


Out of Cryo - Season 2

by Kitewalker



Series: Out of Cryo [4]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Cryogenics, Epic, F/F, Femslash, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Post-Canon, Post-Game(s), Romance, Tags May Change, out of cryo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-30 18:31:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 43,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11469243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitewalker/pseuds/Kitewalker
Summary: A year after the events of Out of Cryo, Aloy and Becks are preparing to finally make the journey back to GAIA Prime together. But when the source of the original signal that led to GAIA's self-destruction makes a reappearance, Becks finds herself in a race against time to save the world they sacrificed so much to restore. F/F Aloy/Becks(OC)





	1. Happy Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Welcome to the second season of Out of Cryo! If you have no idea what this is, I highly recommend you read the previous works in this [series](http://archiveofourown.org/series/759477) first! Otherwise, I'm thrilled you're here and I can't wait to get this started.  
> Few things:  
> \- Cover art by the talented DRON261095. Season 2 edits by yours truly.  
> \- I'm [@zerodawnkitewalker](https://zerodawnkitewalker.tumblr.com) on tumblr, which is where I usually post about updates and other random crap.  
> \- I don't own HZD - Guerrilla Games is amazing and without them I wouldn't be doing this. :D  
> \- This is rated M - violence, swearing, and sex are what you can expect.
> 
> Thank you and enjoy!

_Dodge._ I threw my body, rolling left onto the metal platform and narrowly missing the blade that passed over my head. I gritted my teeth as my skin pressed against the metal grate under me. Coming back up on my feet, I shook off the water that had dripped down to my face from my damp hair – the rain coming down so hard that I could barely see her in front of me.  

But she was still there. Still angry. The floodlights behind her only emphasized the redness of her hair, flames atop the silhouette that stood before me. I could barely make out her face – the hazel eyes that I’d come to love so much with all the emotion they contained now glared at me – the hate in them for me more than apparent. The left side of my face ached where she’d punched me earlier, and I had no doubt it would be black and blue in a day, assuming I even got out of there alive. We were far too high up for me to make a quick exit - unless falling to my death was an option.

“ _Enough_ of this, Becks!” she yelled over the clap of thunder that sounded. “You don’t have to do this. Think of your parents! Your brother! They wouldn’t want you to go through with this, either.”

I shook my head. _Fuck this._ “I did think of them…and that’s exactly why I _have_ to do it.” I gripped my spear in my right hand while my left hovered over the soaked pouch that hung from my belt.

Her brow furrowed as she glanced at the pouch before focusing on me again. “Then you know why I can’t let you live.”

_Of course._ “I know that you’re a liar and that you didn’t mean a goddamned word you said the other night,” I said. “All that talk…it’s bullshit.”

“I won’t be called a liar by someone who’s so…so _blind_ ,” she growled, rainwater running down her face and over the cluster of freckles under her eyes. She readied her weapon.

I’d had enough. “I’d rather be blind than a _mistake_.” I smirked. “A miscalculation.”

That did it. She let out a roar and charged at me. Her spear went down – I stopped it with my arm, the impact vibrating up and through the implants and sending a numbness up to my shoulder. I used my left side to push her back, separating us once more as she stumbled a bit before quickly regaining her balance.

“Nice try. You won’t shatter this spear, though. It’s been modified,” she explained in the calmest and most arrogant tone I’d heard her use yet.

I rushed forward and swung, aiming for her head. She blocked me, her expression showing no signs of exhaustion or giving up. We moved with dizzying speed across the platform, each of us an equal match for the other, the both of us getting more frustrated as the fight wore on.

I wanted to look around, see if the others had made it, but I knew one pause and I’d be dead. One fuck up and that was it.

A yell amidst the chaos. _She_ paused. _What?_

Didn’t fucking matter. I took the opportunity to lunge at her, hoping to disarm her, but she deftly moved aside and slammed the bladeless end of the spear into my stomach. I gasped as the air was knocked from my lungs and barely had enough time to shout when the weapon came down again on my right knee. Pain exploded in my kneecap and I dropped, hitting the platform with an unforgiving thud. I tried to lift my spear but she kicked it from my hand before I could do anything. I whimpered and watched helplessly as it tumbled off the platform.

_Other ways. Have to be._ I rolled onto my back, groaning in agony as my injured knee kept me grounded. A flash of lightning illuminated the blade that she pressed against my throat. One twist…that’s all it would take for it to be over. For all of this to have been for nothing.

“No more, Becks. It’s time.”

_Has to be another way._

* * *

 

**_Two months earlier, one year after GAIA restoration_ **

****

“So…now what?”

I glared at her. “Really? I just sang the best fucking rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ the 31st century has ever seen and you’re not even a _little_ impressed?!”

Aloy gave me an awkward, apologetic look as she seemed to be considering whether it was in her best interest to be honest with me or not as she sat at the table – my very sad attempt at a berry pie…thing topped with a candle in front of her – while I stood next to her.

She decided to be honest.

“Well, Becks…” She shifted and looked down, obviously uncomfortable as she refused to meet my gaze. “That was probably one of _the_ most frightening things I’ve ever experienced. And I’ve fought corrupted Stormbirds.” She pointed at the pathetic pie. “And what is this thing?”

I crossed my arms. “Well, fuck you, too. That…is a birthday cake.”

She looked up at me again. “Um…why is there a candle on it? Is this some kind of Metal World ritual?”

I laughed and pushed a few strands of wavy brown hair out of my face. “Kind of? You’re supposed to make a wish and blow it out.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s your _birthday_ , Aloy. It’s what you do. Now stop arguing and make a wish.”

“I wish I could understand this.”

I shook my head. “No! You can’t say it out loud.”

Aloy raised an eyebrow, causing me to laugh harder. “But I-then what’s the _point?_ ”

“If _I_ know what the wish is, then it won’t come true.”

She huffed. “That…is the strangest thing I’ve ever heard of, Becks. And why is this important, anyway?”

I couldn’t decide if I was frustrated at her for not playing along or having more fun than I’d had in a while because of how stubborn she was being about the entire thing. “ _Because_ today is the anniversary of your birth. And you’re still alive. And that’s a good thing. So…we celebrate it!”

“I was alive yesterday. And the day before. We couldn’t celebrate then?” she asked.

_This is getting fucking ridiculous._ “Blow out the damn candle, Aloy.”

She dutifully complied and let out a small puff of air, extinguishing the flame before it could burn through the candle.

I clapped my hands. “All right! Now we um…” I looked at the “dessert” and winced a bit. “Erm…you don’t have to eat that.”

Aloy actually protested. “But you made it for me.”

“It’s fine – I don’t want you to get sick or something,” I said and took her hand before pulling her away from the table. “Come on, I want to give you your gift.”

She smiled and squeezed my hand. “I get a gift?”

“Yeah. Here.” I fished into one of my pockets and procured the small, triangular device that once powered the world. _And maybe someday will again._

She cast a suspicious look at me as she took the Focus from my hand. “You’re…giving me back _my_ Focus. The one you took from me this morning without any apology?”

I nodded. “Yes. Turn it on.”

She kept a watchful eye on me as she returned the Focus to just above her ear and activated it. The entry interface must have popped up with my message because she grinned ear to ear and put her free hand around my waist.

“The music from your Focus that I liked. You put them on mine?”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t that hard and you said you wanted to try having some light background noise when you hunt. I figured maybe we could listen to the same tracks when we go together.”

Her smile didn’t falter. “This is perfect. Thank you.” Her expression shifted to worry. “Wait. Do I need to get you something?”

“No, no…this is _your_ day. You can get me something on my birthday. It’s not until fall, though.”

Aloy seemed puzzled. “Wait…that means we didn’t celebrate your last birthday, Becks. You didn’t tell me!”

I gave her a quick kiss. “It’s fine. To be honest, I stopped looking at the date on my Focus for a while.”

But she wouldn’t let it go. She gave me a sly smile before letting go of my hand and pulling me close to her until our foreheads were touching. “I can think of a few other ways we can celebrate then, even if today isn’t your day.”

My cheeks immediately felt hot. _Of_ course _she fucking understands the concept_ now. I laughed quietly and shook my head in dismay. “Smooth. Real smooth.”

But Aloy said nothing – she simply took my hands in hers again and began leading me to the other side of the cabin - no doubt where we’d be occupied for some time - the sad little pie on the table forgotten.


	2. Morning Hunt

_Still cold. Why is it_ still _cold?_

Shivering, I reached down to pull the furs back over me only to find that they were stuck. _No, not stuck._ I looked over and sighed. Aloy slept peacefully next to me, and by peacefully, I mean that she was wrapped up in the blankets while doing her best impression of whatever the hell sound a Thunderjaw makes when it’s upset.

After a few futile tugs, I gave up and glanced at the window. The faint rays of dawn peeked in through the covering, indicating that it was probably almost time to get up anyway. _So much for sleeping in._

I leaned over and placed a light kiss on her bare shoulder before getting out of bed to look for my clothes. I found my tunic hanging over a chair and my pants on the wood floor, where I’d tossed them the night before after Aloy’s birthday “celebration”. As I grasped the tunic in my hands, I took a moment to inspect the implants on my left arm, the carefully placed array of metal parts and bright blue lights that had been woven into the olive skin, making up a good chunk of the limb – a remnant of the battle at the Bitter Climb.

It’d been a little over a year since that day, and it had taken me every single day since to get used to my “upgrades”. Now, I could move my arm - even throw a spear (pretty well, I might add) and fire a bow without sucking horrendously (I was still pretty bad and preferred the spear). I could walk, run, jump – on occasion, better than even Aloy could. But I was still no match for her endurance or her consistency when it came to strength and combat. I had a reconstructed arm, leg, and back and a year of improvised physical therapy. She had a lifetime of experience and training.

The memories never went away. I’d still get nightmares from time to time…relive that terrible moment at the GAIA Prime control panel – watching in horror as my best friend, Jenna, broken beyond repair, dropped the bomb that would kill her and change my life forever.

Not that it was the first time my life had been altered in a very, _very_ permanent way. It was only a few months before the battle that Aloy and our friend, Erend, had found me in a cryo tank – the vessel my parents put me into in 2066 at the end of an apocalypse, with the hope that I might survive to see the world reborn a thousand years later. And I had.

But they hadn’t.

I found them along with my brother, murdered by my best friend at the order of the man who was responsible for ending the world – Ted Faro. Aloy had killed him, but his death would not bring back my family. Nothing ever could.

We had accomplished the impossible, though. GAIA had been rebuilt, restored, and the last copy of APOLLO, once presumed gone forever, had been found and reintegrated. The future of this world was still up in the air, however. Cultures had been formed. Nations had been established. We wanted to share APOLLO with the world, but we were lost as to how we’d do it exactly. The only learning facility we knew of was in the cradle in Mother’s Watch – the structure the Nora tribe worshipped as a goddess. The matriarchs had allowed Aloy and myself to enter it, but refused entry themselves.

I had suggested we find another cradle location, but to do that we’d have to ask GAIA herself. And she was at GAIA Prime, a location that up to this point, I was not in any physical or mental state to travel to.

Aloy was in no rush, though. After the battle, she’d spent every day for the next year helping me relearn how to move again. It had been a grueling process – my implants made me stronger and my movements smoother, but there was a severe mental disconnect between my body and the implants themselves. The emotional fallout was pretty shitty as well. Waking up in this new world, seeing my family’s bodies, and watching as a girl I once cared for more than anyone end her life before me – it all eventually got to me and after I woke up from surgery I think something inside me snapped. Some days were better than others – I might spend a day walking around the cabin and going outside while spending another day in bed and refusing to eat or speak. Aloy had been supportive and caring, but there was only so much she could do. It took a while, but I realized that if I truly wanted to get better that the repairs would also have to come from me.

After dressing and pulling on my boots, I pulled my hair back and scanned the cabin for my spear. For a long time, I was hesitant to even pick it up, but now the weapon – a gift Aloy had made for me shortly after I’d awoken from cryosleep – was something I looked forward to wielding every time I went out. I was far from an expert with it, but the implants in my left arm, along with Aloy’s help, had accelerated the training I needed to actually be useful with it.

 _By the door._ Just where I’d left it. I grabbed my pack and slung it over my shoulder before picking up the spear and went out the front door, making sure to close it gently behind me as to not wake Aloy.

I took a deep breath as I stepped out into the forest. Although it was spring, the early morning chill had not yet gone. The sun was rising but I suspected things wouldn’t warm up for a few hours yet. I activated my Focus to check for life signs and, with my spear in my hand, began to walk into the cluster of trees surrounding the cabin.

 _Let’s see. Nothing, nothing…still nothing. Ooh!_ Movement. I stopped and turned toward the source. A quick scan and the Focus returned data. **_Rabbit_**. _Gone, now._ I had been going hunting on my own for a few months and while I was getting better at it, Aloy probably would have found and caught something right away. Still, I wanted to do my part and if that meant letting her sleep in for once then that was fine by me.

I continued walking. The air felt cleaner, clearer than it had in some time – we’d had a lot of rainy days recently and it was nice to go outside and not have to worry about walking home soaking wet. The tree leaves were a vibrant green, and while the Focus wasn’t picking up any movement directly in front of me, I could _feel_ a definite increase in animal activity in the forest.

Then, movement.

**_Turkey._ **

Despite my best efforts, I still had not taken one down. My kills had been mostly rabbits and a few boars. But there it was, right in front of me, waddling around and letting out the occasional gobble.

I readied my spear and prepared to throw it. “All right, you little shit,” I muttered. “Time for payback.” The stupid birds loved to hang out around the cabin and wake me up at the most disagreeable hours.

 _Aim._ The muscles in my arm and upper back tensed. GAIA’s “upgrades” allowed me to aim with deadly accuracy _if_ I had a good handle on my movements. The connection to my implants was still something I was practicing, but when it worked, it really _worked._

I was just about to let the spear loose when an audible – but only barely – click sounded from my left. My eyes darted – my peripheral vision saw the yellow light right before it went red. I jumped back, turning toward the hostile Watcher and holding my spear up to block as it charged at me.

I watched as the machine leapt into the air and hurled itself at me, the whirring sound it emitted growing higher in pitch. _What the fuck?!_

At the last possible second, I rolled out of the way. The Watcher crashed to the ground a few paces away, kicking up torn grass and small rocks. It turned to face me again, its red light glaring right at me. Before I could really think about it, I launched the spear, its target: the machine’s eye.

There was a satisfying metallic crunch as the blade of the weapon shattered the glass of the Watcher’s eye and punctured its main core. The machine’s whirring slowed to a mournful whine before it collapsed on the dirt.

Panting, I spun around, looking for any other machines or enemies. _The hell? Why did that thing attack?_ After we had brought GAIA back online, the AI had given a global command that set the machines to no longer attack humans. The only way a Watcher would have been able to attack me was if someone had _ordered_ it to. Which meant someone had to have overridden it.

_Or worse, GAIA is broken again._

I sighed and walked over to the fallen machine. I allowed my Focus to scan it, just in case it was able to pick up any information on who or what had overridden the Watcher to make it attack me.

**_Watcher._ **

_Wow, thanks, Focus. Super helpful._ I yanked the spear from the broken eye and looked around one more time. The turkey was long gone, and my kill count was still zero. Still, I couldn’t help but be a bit smug at taking down the Watcher on my own. _Too bad Aloy wasn’t here to see what a badass I was just now._

Kill counts could wait. I needed to get back home and tell Aloy what had happened. If something was making the machines hostile again, then we needed to find out what it was and stop it. If that meant making the trip to GAIA Prime sooner than planned, then that’s what we had to do.


	3. GAIA Prime

“ _Ouch!_ ” I dropped the spear. “Fucking shit!”

Aloy frowned and stepped back, her own weapon hanging at her side. “You can’t just pay attention when you feel like it, Becks.”

I nursed my right hand, which was already starting to bruise. “I wasn’t! I mean, I was paying attention, but what the hell am I supposed to do when you start hitting my hand like that? Why would _anyone_ do that?”

Aloy just shook her head and walked over to the pile of leaves where my spear had landed. “You were distracted. I can tell. I took advantage of it and disarmed you.” She bent down and picked up the spear before walking back to the small circle in the forest clearing where we had been training most of that fall afternoon.

“I was _not_ distracted,” I protested as I took the weapon in my aching hand. “Shit, this is going to be ugly in a day or so. Let’s take a break?” I gave her my best hopeful smile.

She didn’t seem to have much sympathy as she reclaimed her position a few steps in front of me. “Stop whining so we can do it again.”

 _She’s so serious when we train._ “You’re no fun. And you hurt my hand.”

Aloy didn’t skip a beat. “It’s just a bruise, Becks. And I’d rather not be ‘fun’ than have something happen to…to you again because I didn’t show you how to defend yourself.”

 _Ugh._ At some point, she was going to need to stop feeling guilty over what happened at GAIA Prime with Jenna. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”

She tilted her head. “Do what?”

I sighed. “ _That._ What you said just now. I’m _fine,_ okay? I’m all better and you don’t need to feel guilty about it.”

“You’re not ‘all better’.”

As cold and discouraging as her words sounded, I knew they came from a place of love. I knew she felt guilty, that she took responsibility for what had happened. But I’d told myself that I was tired of looking back, tired of living like the world was going to end again. I needed Aloy to be onboard with that plan as well. And she had been, for the most part, but sometimes – times like _this_ – she seemed to have more difficulty than usual with it. “For the five hundredth time, Aloy, it wasn’t your fault.”

But she wouldn’t let it go. “Becks-,”

 _I do_ not _want to argue about this right now._ I held up my spear despite the pain in my right hand as I gripped it. “Nope, not listening. Now, come on. Show me what you’ve got.”

Aloy raised an eyebrow. “I thought your hand hurt?”

“It does, but you’re right and I’m tired of talking about it,” I declared. “Now, come on.”

She didn’t hesitate further. She swung, her weapon coming at me from the side. I twisted my body just enough for her to miss before countering with my own attack. My weapon clipped hers and she jumped back, twirling her spear a few times (like the show off she was) before coming back around for another attempt. She swung from over her shoulder and tried to disarm me again. My hand throbbed from being hit earlier and I instinctively put my left arm out in front of me to protect it.

A loud pop followed by dust and splinters exploding between us startled me and I ended up dropping my spear anyway. The broken pieces of Aloy’s weapon fell to the ground, clattering on top of each other.

We stood in frozen silence while staring at the remains of her spear. The aching in my hand reminded me that time had not actually stopped.

“How-how did you do that?” she asked, her eyes wide with wonder.

I inspected my left arm to find that while there was some dirt and a few scratches that I was otherwise unharmed and not in any pain. “I…I guess the implants are more resilient than we thought?”

Aloy actually laughed, a loud bark that made me grin. “‘Resilient’? You broke my spear!”

 _Holy shit._ I wasn’t really sure how to respond so I just sort of gave her this dumb, shy grin.

Aloy, however, was really excited about the whole thing. “We should try this again. I’ll need to get another training spear, though.” She glanced in the direction of home. “I think there’s a few back at the house near the training dummies.”

“You…want me to break another spear?”

She smirked. “I can make more. And we should probably take a look at your hand, anyway.”

 _Oh,_ now _she cares._ “Thought you said it was just a bruise?” I teased.

“It would be interesting to see how you do with the training dummies as well,” she continued, ignoring my jab. “I want to see how strong those implants are.”

“Training dummies?” Now _I_ was laughing. “I feel like I’ve suddenly become an experiment.”

Aloy surprised me by reaching for my uninjured hand. I took it, appreciating its warmth in the chilly weather. “Never,” she said, her smile genuine. “But if you were, I like to think it would be pretty ‘cool’ as you Old Ones say.”

I groaned. “Please, just…don’t ever do that again.”

She laughed again and gave my hand a light tug. “Come on. Let’s head back.”

* * *

“Up this way. Not enough to grab over there. It should be at the top of this climb.”

I grabbed the nearest rock that jutted out the side of the cliffside. “I _have_ been here before, you know.”

The rope connecting us slackened for a moment as Aloy turned her head to face me. She gave me a worried look. “Are…is this going to be okay for you?”

 _Oops._ My comment was intended to poke fun, not to make her all concerned again. It’d taken nearly the remainder of the entire day after my failed hunt to convince Aloy that we needed to get to GAIA Prime sooner rather than later. She’d argued, of course, and said that she wasn’t certain I was ready to make the journey because of my implants. I told her I didn’t get those implants just so I could let something happen to GAIA again – like the machines acting up – and she finally relented. She had a theory – that an old ally of hers might had overridden the Watcher that attacked me – but after a few trips out to the forest, we discovered that it wasn’t just the Watchers that attacked us on sight, but several other machines as well. It wasn’t all of them either, but the effect definitely seemed to be spreading. What that meant…well, neither of us had any idea. But we knew if anywhere had answers, it would be GAIA Prime.

“I’ll be fine, Aloy,” I told her. A gust of wind blew hair in my face and I shook my head so that I could see the redhead clearer. _It’s fucking freezing._ We were pretty high up by this point and the weather had long since changed from a warm, sunny day to still sunny but with bitter cold winds and snow everywhere.

Aloy definitely seemed like she wanted to say something else, perhaps debate with me about leaving the Embrace again, but instead she gave me a tentative stare before returning to climbing. The Bitter Climb – I had done it once before, over a year earlier when Aloy, myself, and a group of friends and allies had made our stand against Ted Faro and restored GAIA. _Though, I remember this being a_ lot _harder._

It was gradually becoming apparent to not only myself, but to Aloy as well, that I was growing stronger the more comfortable I got with my implants. As long as I favored my left arm and leg, pulling my body up the side of the cliff was nowhere near the difficulty it had been the first time I’d done it.

When we finally reached the top, Aloy helped pull me over the edge before we both took a moment to rest and take in the scene before us.

 _GAIA Prime._ Rebuilt by HEPHAESTUS, the AI we’d befriended on our journey to restore the system, the structure was massive – the front walls reaching far up into the sky while the back of it was built into the mountain behind it. The metal walls glowed a fiery orange as did the snow around it as the sun began to set, the streaks of light signaling the day’s end spreading across the sky and reflecting off the mountainside.

“Well, we made it,” I said, my breath visible in the air. I grabbed my water pouch and took a long drink before handing it to Aloy. “Can’t say I missed the cold, though.”

Aloy nodded before taking a sip herself. She closed the pouch and gave it back to me. “Hopefully it’s warmer inside.” She stood up and offered her hand to me. “Come on. GAIA will probably want to see how you’re doing.”

I took her hand and let her pull me to my feet. “Yeah. I should tell her to include some instructions to help us out next time. You know, like ‘ _Robotic Limbs For Dummies_ ’.”

Aloy blinked. “Um…what?”

I leaned in and kissed her cheek, her skin cold against my lips. “Nothing. Just a crappy joke. Let’s go.”

* * *

 

_“Hold for IdentiScan.”_

“Did this always take so long?” Aloy muttered as the red light slowly passed over her.

I shrugged. “I never went anywhere that had restricted access, so I’m not sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if the system’s degraded over time, though. It’s been a while.” I looked around and found myself feeling a little nauseous. We stood outside the blast door – the entry to the main control room of GAIA Prime. A few of the bars holding the structure up as well as the metal platform we stood on were blackened, scorched by the bomb Jenna had used. A console stood a few steps away, the side of it smashed in. There was no blood, no remains, though I _knew_ there had been before…

**_Blood dripping down the side and front of my face._ ** **Can’t see anything _._**

**_“…Zeta Override. Lock…lock out Omega access.”_ **

**_Screaming. So much screaming…it was gone. How could something just be_ ** **ripped _away like that? How could anything_ hurt _this much?_**

**_“_ ** **No! _Becks,_ please!”**

**_“It would have been better. It-,”_ **

“Becks?” A hand touched my shoulder and I jumped, letting out a frightened squeak. I spun around, ready to defend myself if I had to when _she_ caught my right wrist.

“Hey! It’s just me, Becks. It’s me.” Aloy’s eyes locked with mine, and already I could feel myself beginning to calm down.

I lowered my hand. “I-sorry. I thought…” I nodded toward the console. She followed my gaze – the darkening of her expression letting me know she immediately understood.

“We shouldn’t have come here,” she said, fists clenched - her tone hard. “Bringing you up here was a bad idea.”

I shook my head. _We are_ not _fucking this up because of me._ “No, it’s fine. I’m fine, Aloy.” I grabbed her shoulders, pulling her closer to me. “Please.” I moved my hands to her face – forced her to look at me. “I want to do this. If there’s something or someone fucking around with the system…we didn’t go through all that just so we could let it all go to hell again.”

“But-,”

I leaned forward and captured her lips in mine, kissing her with everything I had. She didn’t need to say anything – I could _feel_ the hesitation, the sadness, the _guilt._ And it needed to fucking stop. We needed to push on. I wasn’t dead and I refused to live like I was.

Finally pulling away, I slowly met her eyes once more – our breathing quickened. “I’m here. Okay?” I asked.

She nodded, the reluctance obvious. “Okay.”

I released her and looked at the door. “Good. Now then, what the hell? This thing _is_ slow. Maybe it’s broken?”

 _“Scan accepted. Welcome back, Dr. Sobeck.”_ The blast door hissed as it slid open, revealing the entry chamber of GAIA Prime. We exchanged hesitant glances before Aloy took the first step in and I followed after.

“Holy shit,” I gasped as I stared up at the towering ceilings. The room was metal throughout, with consoles and screens lining the walls. The lighting was white and a bit harsh, similar to that of the cauldron I’d been in. Everything from the walls to the ceiling, to the consoles and floor lights had been obviously designed by a machine. This place probably looked very different back when Elisabet and the other Alphas lived and worked here.

“I’ve never been in here,” Aloy breathed as we slowly walked through the room. The consoles all appeared to be online and a multitude of displays filled the back wall at the far end of the room.

_“This facility has been redesigned to better suit the management requirements of the core system.”_

I spun around, looking for the origin of the voice that spoke. It was familiar – female, deep, _almost_ human but laced with an uncanny quality that made me certain it was synthetic. The volume was loud enough that it reverberated off the walls of the room, making it more difficult to determine the owner.

_“Welcome back, Aloy. And welcome, Rebecca. It has been too long since I’ve heard your voice.”_

“GAIA,” Aloy said. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips and I suddenly felt happier than I had all day. This is what we’d fought for. What I’d sacrificed for. And she was finally _real_.

_“Yes. I am pleased to see you have recovered, Rebecca.”_

I grinned. Despite being an AI, GAIA’s voice had a soothing quality to it. I immediately grew more comfortable – it was like listening to an old friend telling you what had happened over the years after not seeing them in forever. Definitely a strange feeling, but in that moment, all I could think about was that we had really done the impossible – we had restored her. We would ask her about the machines and everything would be okay.

 _And we can finally move out of that cabin and go somewhere_ new.

“Just ‘Becks’ is fine.” I wasn’t really sure what to look at when speaking so looking up seemed like the next best thing.

_“Very well. I detect that your implants are working as intended and that your body has not rejected them.”_

_Nice._ “Yeah…though it would have been nice to know that was a possibility,” I said, giving Aloy a concerned look. I noticed GAIA hadn’t really said much to Aloy, but I figured it was just because she was gathering information about my recovery.

_“My apologies. Next time I will make sure to include as much information as possible to help accelerate your recovery.”_

I snorted. “Well, I’m hoping there won’t have to be a next time at all.”

“Machines are going rogue, GAIA,” Aloy spoke up. “A Watcher attacked Becks. And other machines are going hostile at the sight of humans.”

Silence.

“Uh…did you get that, GAIA?” I said.

_“Yes. Apologies for the inconvenience, Becks. I’m afraid you were in a designated test zone at the time of your attack.”_

_What?_ “‘Test zone’? What the hell are you testing? And why are you doing it where there are people around?”

_“I’m afraid that is classified information, Becks. I cannot release further details at this time.”_

I looked over at Aloy, who nodded. “GAIA, stop the testing and tell us what you were doing. Now.”

_“I’m afraid I cannot, Aloy. Your voice authorization has been removed from my administrative permissions. As such, this facility will initiate a security breach in thirty seconds.”_

My chest tightened. “H-how is that possible, Aloy?”

Aloy unslung her bow. “We’ll figure it out later. We need to get out of here.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible at the moment.” A man’s voice. It was English in origin, I could tell that much. We turned to our left, where the voice had originated. A door had opened, no doubt an entry to the rest of the facility. In front of it stood an older man, perhaps in his late-fifties. His grey hair was cut short and he wore a white lab coat. He was flanked by three men and a woman – all outfitted in combat gear and armed with large guns.

These were no Carja or Oseram or even Banuk. These were Old Ones. Like me.

The man smiled. Before the Faro Plague, I probably would have thought he seemed like a nice guy. He might have even been one of Dad’s friends. But something about this guy at first sight gave me the creeps. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but I knew something was _not_ right with him.

He looked up. “Please close the front door, GAIA.”

 _“Activating front entry. Door closed.”_ A bang in the distance – the blast door had been shut and sealed.

Aloy nocked an arrow and aimed at the man before anyone could say anything. The air immediately tensed and there were several rapid clicks as his bodyguards pointed their guns at us.

The man put up his hands. “Now, now. Let’s not do anything we might regret. She would be displeased if we were forced to put you down now.”

“What are you talking about? And just who the flying fuck are _you_?” I demanded.

“James Branwell,” he said with an unsettling smile. “Doctor, actually. I ran the Center for Cloning and Genetic Exploration. Well,” he chuckled, “ _still_ run it, I suppose.” He grinned at his bodyguards, who all gave a quiet laugh.

Aloy lowered her bow, but only slightly. “For Zero Dawn?”

Branwell laughed again. “Oh, goodness, no. Patrick was far too close-minded for me to get anything done. No, we are a branch of Far Zenith. Perhaps you’ve heard of us?”

“I’ve read about you,” Aloy said, not bothering to hide her suspicion. “You sent…something beyond Earth. It didn’t work.”

“The _Odyssey_ , yes,” Branwell clarified. “A shame it failed. But, that’s why we have contingencies. The best scientists, thinkers, businessmen – they always do.”

I hated this guy already. “Cut the bullshit and tell us what you want.”

But Branwell wasn’t fazed. In fact, it was almost as though he was stalling. _For what?_ “It’s ‘Rebecca’, right? I believe I met your father at a conference a few years before…well, you know. A very smart man, or I thought so, anyway.”

 _Oh,_ hell _, no._ “Yeah, you don’t get to talk about my dad. So, either tell us what you want, or let us go,” I snarled.

“I’m not in a position to do that, I’m afraid. My job is to collect you once she’s made her assessment and decided what to do with you.”

“Try and take us,” Aloy challenged him. “You’ll have an arrow in your skull before your people take a single step.”

The doctor raised both eyebrows. “A pity we were once again reduced to such…savagery. Ah, but it’s a work in progress I suppose. I’m actually not here for the both of you. _You_ may go,” he said, addressing Aloy. “I must insist that Rebecca here stays.”

“Not going to happen,” I said, glaring at him. I wanted to reach for my spear, but I wasn’t confident I could do anything with it before those guards put a hundred bullets in us.

“Sorry I’m late. Oh, put the guns _down_ , Jim! I don’t need her any more traumatized than she already is,” I heard Aloy say. Except…she didn’t.

 _Wait._ I did a double take and looked over at Aloy, whose face had been drained of color. She lowered her bow, staring straight ahead as though she’d seen a ghost. I turned my head to face Branwell again and gasped.

She was probably in her early to mid-thirties, maybe a few years older. Her hair was longer - past her shoulders - but she had it pulled back. Whereas I was used to a chaotic, wavy sea of red, _her_ hair was straighter, more controlled. The freckles were almost a match. Her eyes were hazel, appearing darker in this light than they usually did. She was well-built - very fit - as though she worked out intensely every day. The clothes were different – black pants tucked into combat boots and an olive-green shirt that I’m pretty sure Jenna had an exact replica of at some point.

“You heard me, Jim. Enough with the guns,” she repeated. _That voice._

Branwell nodded and gestured to his guards, who hesitated before finally lowering their weapons.

“That’s better. Now then,” she began briskly, “I guess introductions are in order. Elisabet Sobeck, though everyone just calls me Liz.”


	4. Blurred

I stared at her, dumbfounded and speechless. _This can’t be real…_ she _can’t be real. She_ died _– Aloy found her body. She had been older – at least ten years older._ The woman before us couldn’t have been Elisabet Sobeck – she was way too young. _Then again, Ted looked pretty good for his age, too._ But not _this_ good.

I could see Branwell smirking behind her as a still stunned Aloy spoke first. “You’re…h-how is this possible? How are you here?”

Elisabet smiled. I’d only seen her smile in the recording my dad took when they met in the park after she’d left FAS. All the holovids I’d seen her in on Aloy’s focus showed her sad and depressed – she’d had this haunted expression that carried over to every recording. Which made sense, given the weight she had to carry. But this Elisabet didn’t seem to carry that heaviness. She seemed…calmer. More confident. I couldn’t explain it, but while her smile should have been comforting, instead it seemed out of place. A creeping dread began to grow in the back of my mind. “Normally, I’d expect an introduction in return but I don’t mind explaining a few things if you really want me to.”

“I get the feeling you know who we are,” I said.

“You’d be correct,” Elisabet said with a nod. She activated the Focus above her ear. “Okay, then. ‘Rebecca Adeline Johnson’. Typically goes by ‘Becks’…hmm, that’s cute. Born October 12, 2046 in Denver, Colorado. Youngest child of Robert and Sarah Johnson. One older sibling: Dennis. Enrolled in university at age 17 for engineering with a focus in hardware-software integration. Candidate for FAS internship, but did not complete the application process due to…parental refusal.” The Focus shut off. “Probably for the best, honestly. You would have been working on the Chariot line and we all know how well _that_ turned out.”

I heard Branwell and his guards chuckle again. I didn’t see the humor in whatever the hell they were laughing at, but maybe they had some inside joke about the fucking apocalypse. Not sure how that could be funny, but I wasn’t about to pretend to understand them, either.

“And…you.” Elisabet turned to Aloy, who seemed completely mesmerized by her presence. “‘Aloy’, right? We’ve heard of you. In fact, I should probably thank you. You kept the HADES protocol from executing.” She glanced back at Branwell for a moment before turning to us again. “We should have been more careful, really. But…I can’t take responsibility for something I didn’t do. Fortunately, there’s no chance of _that_ mistake happening again.”

 _What?_ “ _You_ sent that signal? You broke GAIA?”

Elisabet shook her head. “Of course not. My colleagues did – former colleagues. Obviously, it didn’t work as they expected and so here we are.”

Something wasn’t right. The dread I had been pushing back amplified. “You’re not _her._ You can’t be.”

“Becks!” Aloy exclaimed.

I ignored her – met “Elisabet’s” gaze. “No! Dr. Sobeck respected the Alphas. I watched the vids and read the notes - the team made it _very_ clear they didn’t want to build a cloning facility so why is _he_ here?” I pointed an accusing finger at Branwell.

But Elisabet didn’t seem offended. In fact, she didn’t appear bothered at all by my accusation. “I am Elisabet Sobeck as much as _she_ is,” she said, her tone calm as she nodded toward Aloy.

 _No fucking way._ “You’re…you’re a clone!”

Elisabet smiled again – that _same_ crooked smile Aloy so often showed. Any other time I would have felt comforted by it, but there was something about this Elisabet – something…unsettling. I didn’t like her and I didn’t want to be here anymore. “You say “clone” like it’s a bad thing, Becks, but you have no issues carrying on a relationship with one.”

I saw Aloy bite her lip – she was clearly disturbed by all of this. More than that, though, she seemed disappointed. This woman was not her “mother”. In fact, this Elisabet really didn’t show that much interest in Aloy at all, despite the fact that they shared the same DNA, the same face, same…everything.

I glared at Elisabet, angry at all of this bullshit. “Why now? And why remove yourself from GAIA’s administrative access?”

“Oh, I haven’t. There’s a small, nearly negligible difference in our genetic makeup,” she answered, gesturing casually at the space between her and Aloy. “GAIA had record of the more unique aspects of Aloy’s genetic print and so I removed it. No offense, but I think I’ve got a bit better handle on the system than you. After all, I designed it.”

“ _You_ didn’t design shit,” I snapped.

“But I did, Becks,” she argued. “When Far Zenith created me, they imprinted all of the knowledge I would need to be successful. My mind, my body – all designed to be everything that the original Elisabet Sobeck was and so much more.” She looked at Aloy. “GAIA’s copy attempt was good, but let’s be honest – there was only so much you were going to be able to understand with HADES unshackled and the registry corrupted.”

Aloy took a deep breath. “I understood enough. I fixed the registry and HADES was stopped."

“The fact that you see that as an accomplishment shows how little you know.”

I don’t think I’d been so pissed at another person since meeting Ted Faro. I didn’t like this woman or this Far Zenith. Whatever they were planning couldn’t possibly be good. “When?” I demanded.

She understood. “My creation? Before Zero Day. I was kept in a cryo facility along with the rest of the team until the final stage about nine months ago. That’s when Dr. Branwell here took care of making sure I had all the resources I needed to proceed with our objective.”

I sighed. This was insane. _Where the fuck are all these cryo facilities and where_ is _everyone else?_

“Which is _what?_ ” Aloy asked, still frozen in place, bewildered by everything that was unfolding.

Elisabet scoffed. “I don’t believe I owe you that information. The fact that we’re still standing here talking is a courtesy that myself and Dr. Branwell have extended to you. But I’m ready to move on. Now, Becks.” She faced me. “If you could come with us we can proceed to the next stage of the process.”

I actually laughed. “Right. Like I’m going anywhere with you psychos.”

“I won’t ask again. You’re going to come with us or I will have my guards drag you to a cell.” Elisabet’s voice was flat out cold, now – all traces of pleasantness having vanished.

Aloy finally seemed to snap out of her trance. She raised her bow with lightning speed and aimed the arrow at Elisabet. “L-like hell you will.”

I noticed the hand pulling back on her bowstring was trembling.

The clone rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time for this. Guys…?”

The guards pointed their guns at Aloy.

“Hey!” I cried.

“Put the bow down and walk away, Aloy. Those bullets will punch through that fancy armor of yours before you can take a single shot at me,” Elisabet said.

Aloy didn’t budge. “I’ve survived worse.”

Terrified, I looked at the guards – all of them ready to pull their triggers at Elisabet’s command – and then back at Aloy. Her hazel eyes betrayed her fear and hesitation. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream and curl up in a ball and go back in time – Aloy had been right: we never should have come here.

“You have three seconds to put your weapon down before they _put_ you down,” Elisabet warned. “One.”

 _Have to do something._ “Please, stop!”

“I’m _not_ backing down, Becks!” Aloy declared.

“Two.”

_Shit, shit, shit!_

“Three-,”

 _Fuck._ “Stop!” I yelled, the cry repeating itself as it echoed throughout the room. “I’ll go! I’ll go just…don’t hurt her.”

Aloy stared at me – her eyebrows arched and her lips slightly parted as she slowly lowered her bow. “Becks, _no_.”

Elisabet gave a small nod. “Good. You’ll come with us, then.” The smugness in her tone – I wanted nothing more than to punch her in the face. _Be nice to see how these implants hold up_ then _._

“Let her go, first,” I said, my voice beginning to break as I met Aloy’s eyes. She shook her head, her voice almost a whisper. “Becks, I’m _not_ letting them take you.”

“Jim, take her to the processing chamber and keep her there until I’m ready,” Elisabet ordered. She turned to Aloy. “And show this one to the door and seal it after. I want all entries closed.”

“Of course, Liz,” Branwell said. He muttered something to the guards that I couldn’t hear before all lowered their weapons and two began to approach me while the others retreated back through the door from which they came.

“Wait!” I said, maintaining eye contact with Aloy. “A-at least let me say ‘goodbye’.”

The guards hesitated and looked to Elisabet for their directive. She gave an annoyed sigh and shrugged. “Fine. We don’t have all day, though.”

I shot her the best death stare I could muster before going to Aloy. I took her hand.

“Becks, don’t do this. _Please,_ ” she begged, gripping my hand while holding her bow at her side.

Reaching up a bit, I rested my other hand on her shoulder before leaning up to kiss her. I tried my best to ignore everyone around us, watching. Aloy hesitated for a moment before she moved her lips against mine. The kiss was soft and timid – I could feel the shallow breaths she took, the tension in her chest and arm. I knew she wanted to tear these people apart. _She’ll come back for me. She_ has _to._ I had no plan, no idea what they wanted with me, and for all I knew they were just going to take me to some back room and shoot me. I could only hope that Aloy would find some way to get back in and get me out. _If I don’t find a way, first._

“Ugh, let’s _go_ ,” Elisabet called.

I pulled away, still clinging to Aloy’s shoulder. “I love you.” I felt strong arms clamp down on mine before I was roughly yanked back. “ _Ow!_ ”

Aloy’s eyes flashed with rage. “Hey! Get your hands off her!”

I thrashed and tried to break free – panic escalating within me. “Aloy!”

“Get her out of here,” I heard Elisabeth bark from behind me. A hard pressure settled on the side of my neck. There was a loud click followed by pain and an odd, tightening sensation that spread to the rest of my body. I could hear Aloy’s yells but they were muffled as the world closed around me.

* * *

 

I awoke to the low, consistent hum of a machine and a bright, white light shining down on me. My eyes adjusted, though my skin felt cold. A chair.

I was in a chair, reclined all the way so that I was lying on my back. I turned my head.

_What the fuck?_

I had been strapped down. My armor and clothing had been taken as well – I was dressed in a thin white tank top and black shorts. The leathery upholstery of the chair sent a chill up my arms, which were bare save the IV that had been put into my right arm. I gave the room a quick scan. White walls, linoleum flooring. A few dark blue cabinets hung over some countertops. A chair on wheels sat in the far corner. Everything was clean – sterile – and reminded me of a doctor’s office. _A fucking psychotic doctor…probably more than one._

 _No._ I needed to get back to Aloy, needed to find a way out of there. I jerked my left arm, hoping the increased strength from the implants would be able to break the strap.

Nothing. I tried again, and again. But they wouldn’t budge.

The door opened. Dr. Branwell walked in, holding a clipboard and giving me a brief smile before closing the door behind him. “Good to see you up, Rebecca. How are you feeling?”

“Fuck you,” I spat. “Let me go.”

Branwell frowned and set his clipboard down on the counter. “You know I can’t do that.” He took a seat in the chair and folded his hands in his lap. “The good news is that GAIA was spot on: your implants are remarkably well-integrated. Of course, we did have to find some restraints that would hold up against them.” He gestured to the straps that held me down and chuckled.

“Where’s Aloy?” I demanded. “And where’s Elisabet?”

Branwell stood up. “As promised, she was escorted out of the facility and the entries closed and sealed. She was unharmed. Dr. Sobeck is busy attending to the other major project of this facility.”

“Which is what? Who the hell are you guys?” I continued to struggle with my restraints.

“The answer has not changed, Rebecca. Far Zenith heads the repopulation effort for Earth following the devastation caused by the Faro Plague. We had the first phase awaken a little over twenty years ago. The newest phase, including myself, awoke around nine months ago. We have thousands in a cryogenic facility waiting to be brought out of sleep…as soon as the world is ready for them of course.”

I shook my head. “What do you mean? The world is fine. People live all over the place, now. Where are these thousands of people?”

Branwell walked over to the machines near my chair where the IV was connected. “The world, Rebecca, is _not_ fine,” he said as he inspected the machine. He pressed a few buttons. “There we go. Now, our goal is to make sure that while our other project is progressing as intended that we don’t neglect the people waiting, especially as we rebuild. It could be a long time and, well, our other initiative is in my personal opinion: far more fun.” He walked over to the cabinets and opened one of them before reaching in and procuring a metal headband-looking thing.

“The hell is that?” I said. I began to feel weak again. _Asshole probably cranked up whatever is in that IV._

“Our initiative, of course,” he said, as though it was the most obvious fucking answer. He returned to my side. “I will need to put this on you. No worries, though! It’s completely painless.”

“You’re not putting anything on me. Let me go and maybe I won’t smash your face in.”

Branwell raised both eyebrows. “Goodness, perhaps a counseling session would have been ideal first? In any case, Dr. Sobeck’s already finalized this runtime so I couldn’t change it even if I wanted to. And I wouldn’t want to. A surprising amount of information about you was available, lucky for us.” He leaned in and put the headband on me – fitting it around the top of my head.

“Get…away from me.” I tried to move away but my thoughts and reflexes were quickly becoming sluggish.

Branwell stepped back. “This might feel a little strange at first, Rebecca, but I assure you it’s perfectly safe.”

My thoughts became hazy. He kept talking to me, but I couldn’t understand any of it. _Need to get out. Need to find Aloy._

 ** _“Becks.”_** Someone was calling me.

 _Lights._ The room was gone, as were my restraints. Everything was a blur – speeding past me; I couldn’t move. I heard voices – they surrounded me – talking, laughing, yelling.

**_“Becks…hello?”_ **

_Need to get back._ But I couldn’t remember where. Why did I have to go again?

**_“Becks?”_ **

_She_ was there…I had just seen her. I _had_ to find her…had to find-

_Who?_

**_“BECKS! Earth to Becks!”_ **

I blinked, my eyes refocusing on what was in front of me. A windshield. Outside of it, a grassy field. A park. Kids ran around everywhere – a few played on the swings near a baseball field. I looked up. The sky was blue – finally, a sunny day. Which was fine. As much as I liked the rain, a break from it was nice.

_What?_

A hand came down on my wrist. I jumped.

“Jesus, Becks! The hell is up with you?”

I turned to my right. She stared at me from the passenger seat, signs of concern showing behind the bluish green eyes I knew so well. She wore her long, blonde hair back in a ponytail. Her fair skin had a light sheen of sweat on it – no doubt from her jog earlier.

I shook my head. _The hell_ is _up with me?_ “I’m fine. I’m uh…sorry. I guess I spaced out for a bit there.”

She giggled. “No shit. I was literally sitting here calling your name for a full minute. I thought you went catatonic or something.” She leaned back in her seat, her black workout pants and purple tank top stretching with her. “I’m starving. Can we eat, babe?”

I pushed the button to start the hovercar engine. “Yeah, sure.”

 _Wait._ “Uh…Jenna? You just…called me ‘babe’.”

She tilted her head and gave me a bright smile. “Yeah? And?”

I put the car into gear to lift but kept my foot on the brake. “Well, um…is that uh…normal?” _Why wouldn’t it be?_ What was wrong with me?

She laughed again before leaning over the console between us and kissing me. I froze and was barely able to reciprocate when she pulled away.

“You’re cute,” she declared. “Now, stop messing around and let’s go eat.”

Something still felt…odd. Like I forgot to do something. I shook it off. _Need to figure out that fucking calendar on my Focus._ “So…sushi?” I suggested.

Jenna practically bounced in her seat. “Oh my gosh, _yes_. Oh, your mom called while I was on my run. Apparently, _someone_ doesn’t answer their calls.” She gave me a knowing look as I released the brake and began to take us out of the lot.

_Mom. Did she-_

“Yeah, yeah. What’d she want?” I asked.

“She wanted us to stop by the house later. I told her we’d drop by after dinner.”

I shrugged. “All right. But yeah, first…food.” I reached over and took her hand.

She squeezed it. “I hope there isn’t a wait. I swear if it’s longer than ten minutes I’ll run in and start stealing food from other people’s plates.”

I laughed as we flew onto the main street, the sushi restaurant only a few minutes away assuming traffic wasn’t a nightmare of course.


	5. Runtime

Voices. Multiple threads of conversation coming from every direction. Different places, different times, different speakers.

_I’ve been here before._

Had I? I couldn’t remember. Maybe that had been a dream.

We _were here before._

My head was pounding - a deep pain that started from the back of my skull and increased in pressure as my thoughts began to collect.

_Shit, what did I do?_

**_“I’ll go! I’ll go, just…don’t hurt her.”_ **

**_“Becks, no.”_ **

_That voice…I don’t remember it._

**_“The world, Rebecca, is_ ** **not _fine.”_**

**_“Becks…”_ **

“Becks?”

Dark wood. A table. Chopsticks – still wrapped. I looked up. Jenna sat across from me in the booth, frowning in concern at me.

“Hm? What?” I stared at her before turning my head once I noticed the server, a younger guy – maybe in his late teens – standing next to the booth taking our order.

_The fuck was that?_

I tried to make up for yet another space-out on my end. “Oh, uh…I’ll have whatever she’s having.”

Jenna raised an eyebrow as the server thanked us and walked away. “Seriously? You _hate_ tuna.”

 _Oops._ I shrugged – tried to play it off. “Oh, well I guess you can have mine then.”

Jenna laughed and folded her hands on the table. “All right, I’ll bite. Something happened today. Come on, spit it out.”

I shook my head. “N-no. I just…it’s been a weird day is all. Sorry,” I said as I fidgeted with the chopsticks. And it was true. I had some hazy memories of earlier in the day – something about a report for work and then Dennis messaging me constantly to let me know he just _had_ to show me something when we met up next. Then I dropped Jenna off at the park, ran some errands, and picked her up.

 _So why was that so hard to remember? And Jenna and I are…together? Like_ together _together?_ I think I knew it, yet it was still a surprise to me and I couldn’t figure out why. _Should I go to the doctor or something?_

My Focus beeped. I noticed the current time: 17:21, October 3rd, 2070. _The hell? 2070?_ A reminder: **Clean fish tank tomorrow.**

“It’s okay. I _guess_ I forgive you,” Jenna teased. She took my hands in hers and winked, making me smile and calming me down a little. _Everything’s fine. I’m here, she’s here, we’re having sushi – it’s all good._

A brief flash of light. I looked down and noticed the ring she was wearing. Not that it was weird she was wearing a ring – she wore jewelry all the time. The weird part was that she wore it on the ring finger of her left hand and the piece itself was a brilliant white gold with two small sapphires surrounding a slightly larger diamond.

_Is…that what I think it is?_

She noticed me staring at it and glanced down. “What? Oh, shit, did I lose a stone?”

“No, no,” I rushed. “I was just looking at it. It’s really nice.”

She shot me a very unamused look. “Well, I would hope _you_ thought so considering you picked it.”

_But that’s an enga-_

My heart skipped a beat. “I-um…I did?” _What the hell?_ “I mean, yeah but I can still comment on it, right?” I flashed her my most convincing grin.

The unamused expression remained on Jenna’s face. “Oh, I see how it’s going to be. Five months later and you _still_ want me to throw sunshine up your ass at the fact that you completely surprised _me_ for once.”

I smirked, trying to remain cool. “You’re damn right I do.” But on the inside, I was flipping out.

 _We’re engaged. We’re_ together _together and we’re fucking_ engaged. I wanted to remember. _Why can’t I remember? Maybe I_ should _go see a doctor._

She gave my hands a squeeze. I looked up, met her eyes. The concern in them had returned. “Hey. You’re okay, right? You seem…distracted.”

I nodded. “Yeah…yeah. Sorry, I just…I’m just a little out of it today. I think I’m just kind of tired.”

The server arrived with our food and set the plates down in front of us. After asking if we needed anything else, he left again.

Jenna immediately began to dig in to her meal. “I’m so fucking hungry.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I see that.” I poked at mine with my chopsticks.

Her mouth full of food, she glared at me and grabbed my plate, sliding it across the table toward her.

“Enjoy,” I deadpanned. I’d just have to eat when we went to my parents’ house later.

_Mom. Dad._

**_“It’ll be okay, you’ll see. We love you so much.”_ **

A ripple. It was so small but I _knew_ I saw it out of corner of my eye. _The fuck?_ I looked up.

Nothing. Just the older, slightly worn ceiling of the restaurant. I blinked and shook my head again. _Maybe_ _I need sleep._

“This is _so_ good.” Across from me, Jenna was demolishing her dinner like it was the last meal she’d ever eat.

“I like how you just went running and now you’re eating your weight in spicy tuna rolls,” I pointed out.

She waved me away. “Don’t even start.”

I grinned. Teasing Jenna was something that I rarely got the opportunity to do. “I could help you if you wanted. Wouldn’t want you to have to bear that burden on your own.”

She swallowed. “You don’t even eat this stuff, Becks. I’m not letting you near them – you’ll just mutilate them and leave most of it on the plate.”

“I’d be willing to help out a little bit, even if I hated it.” I dramatically reached out toward the sushi with my chopsticks.

Another glare. “Rebecca Johnson, I swear - if you so much as _touch_ these rolls I will beat your ass and you will sleep on the fucking couch until _after_ we’re married.”

I set the chopsticks down. “All right, all right. No need to threaten me.”

She gave me a curt nod, as though to further assert her dominance over the situation, before returning to her meal. I leaned back in the booth and waited patiently while alternating between sipping my drink and playing with my keychain.

* * *

 

“Finally! Was there a lot of traffic?” Mom greeted us at the door as soon as we entered the foyer.

I gave a short laugh. “There’s _always_ a lot of traffic, Mom.”

 _Mom…?_ I wanted to cry, but I wasn’t sure why. And we were at _my_ house…only it wasn’t my house. Apparently, I didn’t live here anymore. _Because Jenna and I live together?_ The concept was still really strange to wrap my mind around. We’d always had sleepovers and were planning to get an apartment closer to the university together eventually but this was different. Especially since I wasn’t even in university anymore.

“My fault, Sarah. I was starving after my run and ordered a lot of food,” Jenna said, giving me a pointed look. The front door slid shut behind us.

Mom side-eyed me. “That’s very sweet, Jenna, but honestly, there’s no need to make excuses for my daughter, especially since she’s suddenly decided the call functionality on her Focus no longer works.”

 _There’s not much hope I’ll get out of this one._ “Sorry, Mom.”

“Is that Becks?” I heard Dad call from the living room.

Mom gave me a long, disapproving stare before speaking up loud enough for Dad to hear her. “Yes, they just got here.” She turned her attention to us again. “There’s some leftovers if you girls are still hungry.”

I nodded and made a beeline for the kitchen, passing through the living room on my way and nearly running into Dad.

“Whoa! Where’s the fire?” he exclaimed, a dorky grin crossing his features.

_Dad…_

I gave him a hug. “No fire, Dad. Just hungry.”

He released me and stepped aside. “Yeah, I’m just going to get out of your way, then.”

I laughed and rushed to the kitchen, where Dennis sat at the table, also consuming leftovers apparently.

“Yo,” he mumbled with his mouth full of pasta.

“Wow, nice,” I said. “You get lots of girls with that pickup line?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Ha ha, you’re hilarious.”

I was about to retort with some witty remark when all the lights in the kitchen went out. There was a faint, purple light coming from somewhere but I couldn’t pinpoint where. The air was silent and heavy. Looking around, the walls were…strange. Old. Rusted over and ruined. In fact, very little of the kitchen remained save the structure and the table where Dennis had been sitting.

Where he was _still_ sitting.

Only, it wasn’t _him._ A dark figure sat in his place – maybe it _was_ him – motionless and quiet. The light was enough, though. His skin, decaying and grey – the purple lighting reflecting off it slightly. There was no expression – _no way in hell he had seen that coming._

The dead eyes that stared straight into me – the misshapen bullet hole that graced the space just above them. I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to throw up.

_Dennis…_

“You gonna eat or you just going to keep staring at me like a creeper?”

I blinked. The lights were back. The kitchen was fine – normal and not falling apart. Dennis…he was sitting straight ahead, devouring his pasta. There was no body. No bullet hole. _Everything is fine._

“Sorry…long day,” I blurted, my heart still racing. I walked to the fridge and opened the double doors, searching for the food Mom had cooked earlier. I prepped a plate and stuck it in the microwave before sitting at the table to join my brother.

“So, what’s up? Just visiting?” I asked. _What the fuck was that?_

He nodded. “Yeah. Just finished up commission so I left the studio early. Mike’s working late on something of his and I didn’t want to get in his way. You?” He took another bite. “How’s everything in nerd land?”

I rolled my eyes. “Funny. Fine, just wrapping up a project myself. Mom called Jenna and said she wanted us to stop by.”

He grinned, indicating he knew exactly what was going on. “Ah.”

The microwave timer went off. I shot Dennis a dirty look before getting up to retrieve my food. “All right, what do you know?”

He put his hands up. “Why would you think _I_ know something?”

“Because you always do.”

The grin remained on his face. “I know nothing.”

“Nothing about what?” Mom and Jenna walked into the kitchen as I grabbed a fork from one of the drawers and went to sit at the table again.

Dennis pointed his fork at me. “Becks is whining because she thinks there’s some grand scheme at work here.”

“I am _not_ whining.”

Jenna exchanged amused glances with Mom. “I love you, Becks, but I’m going to have to side with Dennis on this one.”

I groaned and ate my food in sulky silence while the three of them talked cryptically about whatever the hell it was that I was apparently not allowed to know. 

* * *

“So, are you going to tell me what that whole secret conversation was all about or do I have to guess?” I asked as I kicked off my shoes after walking through the front door of the small apartment Jenna and I shared.

“I could, but I’d have to kill you.” Jenna slipped out of her running shoes and closed the door behind her as we walked into the living area together, the room mostly dark save a few nightlights that were plugged into the walls. “I’m gross – I’m going to go shower.”

“All right,” I said and watched her head down the hall. I took a moment to scan the place to see if anything was familiar yet – a tiny kitchen, black appliances, an old couch that suspiciously resembled the one we had in our, well, my parents’ basement. On a glass end table, a picture frame rested – the picture inside none other than the cheesy selfie Jenna and I had taken at the Sunblast years earlier. I picked it up and smiled, recalling the crazy night when Jenna had gotten us into a club, a club that I had been technically underage for.

_And I almost told her the truth._

A ripple. The same damn thing that happened earlier at the restaurant. It appeared on the photo for a split-second and then it was gone. _What the hell…_

But I _had_ told her the truth, eventually. _When?_ I wanted to remember. I knew the memory was there.

_I think I should call the doctor’s office tomorrow._

I took a closer look at the photo. I was holding up a peace sign like a dork and Jenna, drunk off her ass if I recalled correctly, was kissing my cheek. It had been a wild night and Mom had been so pissed when we’d stumbled into the house later on. I set the frame back down and explored the rest of the apartment.

There was a guest bathroom near a small bedroom down the hall. The bedroom had a desk with an array of electronics on it and some folders haphazardly scattered across it.

I continued down the hallway until reaching the end, where the master bedroom, presumably mine and Jenna’s room, was. I could hear the shower running from the attached bathroom – the door was closed. A king-sized bed flanked by nightstands sat at one end of the room and a large holoprojection screen on the other. A chest of drawers was off to the side. I crossed the room and went through the drawers, fishing through them for something to wear to bed. _Score._ I recognized a pair of plaid shorts and a loose t-shirt I loved, though both looked much older and worn down than I remembered.

I changed and got into bed, the comforters warm and inviting on the chilly October night. The room still felt strange, though. Unfamiliar. Like everything else had been all day. Something didn’t make sense and I couldn’t figure out what it was. The spacing out, the voices, the headaches, the _ripples._ That weird…nightmare thing with Dennis and the fact that I couldn’t remember _anything_ – my own fucking engagement to top it all off.

I sighed. Maybe I was just overworked. Maybe the stress was finally starting to get to me, just like Mom had been concerned about.

 _Fuck it._ I needed to chill out and this was not the way to do it. I took my Focus off and placed it on the nightstand next to me before switching on the holoprojector. Some rerun of an old show I used to watch in high school was on. I watched for a bit, enjoying the low-budget cheesiness and bad acting.

The shower stopped and a few minutes later, Jenna emerged from the bathroom. Her blonde hair was still somewhat damp and she was wearing an outfit similar to mine.

“Those are mine,” I pointed out.

She looked down and then back at me before shrugging. “They’re comfy. Scoot over -that’s my side.”

I smirked and moved to the other side of the bed before feeling the comforter pull away a bit as she climbed in. After a few seconds of shifting, I finally felt her slip her arm under me as she rested her head on my chest. “You okay, babe?”

I took a deep breath. _Am I okay?_ I didn’t really know. “Yeah…yeah, it’s just been kind of a weird day.”

“Because of work? You have vacation days, why not take some? We haven’t been skiing in a while.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Also, I think we should go with the green for the table settings. I know what my mom said, but I don’t really like grey. Plus, it’s a freaking wedding and grey can get dismal, you know?” she added, looking up at me.

I smiled and nodded. “Sure, thing,” I said, meeting her eyes.

Jenna held my gaze for a few seconds before shaking her head. “You’re incredible,” she murmured and leaned in to kiss me. I reciprocated faster this time and our lips moved against each other fluidly for a bit before she pulled away. “I mean,” she continued, “it’s important that we do this _our_ way. I’d hate to have it and then a few months later we’re all, ‘That was nice, but it would have been better if-,’”

**_“It would have been better…”_ **

Another ripple.

**_“No, no, no!_ ** **Becks! _”_**

Someone was screaming. Like they were hurt, no, _dying_.

**_“STATE FUNCTION REQUEST.”_ **

“…right, Becks? Becks?”

I looked down again. “I-sorry.” I felt guilty. “I don’t mean to keep spacing out.” I smiled again. “I’m excited – I swear. It’s going to be the best fucking wedding ever.”

Jenna seemed to be satisfied with that answer. She pressed up against me. “You’re really tense. Relax. It’s like you’re about to run out of here or something.”

I gave a small laugh. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”

She giggled. “Track is over, Johnson!” she announced in what was a pretty accurate impression of my old trainer. I shook my head, laughing silently.

Another ripple. It was in the ceiling, just above the projection this time. _Relax, Becks._ And I would have, except-

Her hand moved – slowly grazing across my stomach before shifting downwards.

I jumped. Met her eyes again as I looked down, her expression betraying that her course correction had not in fact, been an accident.

**_“Becks? This is okay?”_ ** _Of course, it is - don’t fucking stop._

“I…Jenna, what are you doing?”

She tilted her head. “What does it look like I’m doing, silly?” She pushed herself up and forward so that she was mostly on top of me, straddling one of my legs.

**_“I’m fine-,”_ ** _A name. Someone…someone else?_

“Uh…sorry. Stupid question.” Before I could say anything else, Jenna leaned down and covered my mouth with hers, pressing her body into mine as she kissed me.

_Hazel eyes…almost yellow in the sunlight. Freckles – her shoulders covered in them. Shoulders I clung to safely as she moved with me._

A hand at my side. Pulling my shirt up, reaching under the fabric. Her hand dragged across my skin – over my side and up towards my breast.

**_Over the scar._ **

Not a ripple. A distortion. _This isn’t right._ Her lips were on my neck before she began biting down near my collarbone. I made a sound, reacted, but it didn’t sound like my voice. I closed my eyes. Tried to focus. The million voices returned.

_A long sigh. **“I-I need you.”**_

“Becks?”

_A name. I had it._

“Aloy.”

**_“ERROR. UNRECOVERABLE EXCEPTION THROWN. RUNTIME ENDED.”_ **


	6. Titanium

“…that I honestly don’t understand. Maybe if we try the other protocol-,”

“No. Sobeck specifically wants it this way. Try going back to the older thread. I don’t know – maybe we can get a bit more visibility and see why the hell this thing took a shit.”

 _Doctor’s office?_ No. _An intercom._ I opened my eyes – my vision taking a moment to adjust to the brightness again. I was back in the chair - restraints still holding me down. The voices were gone. The screaming had stopped.

Jenna was gone.

 _No. She’s_ been _gone._ I could feel the device Branwell had placed around my head. _What the fuck…_

The memories returned. It was fake. It had _all_ been fake. My family, the house, _Jenna_. They were gone – dead and cold in the ground. Aloy had brought me the ashes and we had buried them together under the tree near the cabin. The cruelty of it all made tears well up in my eyes. I sniffed and pushed them back. I didn’t have time for this bullshit.

_Aloy._

I needed to get the hell out of there.

I could hear Branwell and some other guys muttering to each other through the intercom about why their fucked up experiment had bugged out. I knew it was probably only a matter of time before they got it figured out and working again, which meant I needed to figure out an escape plan fast.

 _But how?_ I tugged at the restraints again. Even with my implants, the restraints they had used on me were impossible to break through. _Fuck…_

“We’ll have to run additional tests. Take her to holding with the other one until this gets sorted,” Branwell said.

_Holding?_

The door opened and a young man in a lab coat walked in. He seemed nice enough - maybe not a whole lot older than me - but I didn’t have time to be nice. I needed to get out of there. “All right, Rebecca. We’re going to take you to another room for now until we can get this going again. Once it’s working, we’ll put you back in, okay?”

I said nothing. I tried to stay calm as he approached me. He began to unfasten the restraint on my left arm first. _Almost. Idiot._

Branwell’s voice broke through on the intercom again. “Did Geary grab the-oh, for God’s sake, Geary you left the tranquil-Geary _get back here-,”_

 _Too late._ I yanked my arm free of the restraint before dealing a backhand blow to the guy. It easily knocked him unconscious and he crumpled to the floor.

_Whoa. That was…really effective!_

“Sorry,” I muttered as I undid the other restraints. I pushed myself out of the chair, my legs a bit wobbly. _How long was I in that…simulation or whatever the fuck it was?_

No time. Had to get out of there.

“ _Goddamnit!”_ Branwell yelled. “Alert! We have a security breach in block A-3. I need a unit in there, _now!_ ”

I looked ahead. _The door!_ It was still open. I decided to run for it. Stepping over Geary’s body, I rushed towards what I hoped would be freedom. Outside of the room was a metal corridor, brightly lit – pretty standard looking for a GAIA-built installation.

 _Need to go. But which way?_ Both sides of the hallway looked the same. I picked right and started running. The first few steps nearly sent me crashing to the ground – my balance was _way_ off. I recovered, barely, and kept going. I didn’t know _where_ the hell I was going, but anywhere was better than that cold, creepy chair.

“Stop her!”

 _Keep going._ A…blue light? _An exit!_ I pushed forward – tried to focus everything on reaching that door.

_Go, go, go – almost there!_

My heart racing, I skidded to a stop and held out my hand to activate the power cell. The holographic lock spun before the metal doors slid open.

Branwell, accompanied by four armed guards, greeted me. Their guns were pointed directly at me. “Let’s not make any poor choices today, Rebecca. These men are going to take you somewhere to rest while we get the simulation working again.”

 _No way._ I wasn’t going to stick around for this. I turned on my heel and began running the other way, hoping that Branwell wouldn’t be psycho enough to have his thugs shoot at me. I knew they needed me – for what purpose, though, I had no clue.

A shock started at the base of my spine and spread to my leg and up my arm. Pain lanced through me, a hundred needles pricking me all at the same time. I cried out, unable to move my entire left side forward and promptly collapsed on the ground. The shocks continued in intervals, each pulse numbing my implants and keeping me immobile.

Branwell approached from behind, holding a handgun of unusual design in his hand. “Interesting. Guess it worked after all. I’ll have to let Liz know,” he said to one of the guards. “Please take her to holding.”

One of the guards bent down and pressed a small device against my neck. Another pin-prick. “Should we really be dosing her so soon after the sim?”

“I’ll make that call.” Branwell’s sneer was the last thing I heard before I fell unconscious again. 

* * *

 

“Wake up, girl! Come on, up with you. We don’t have time for this.”

It took a moment to register that someone was shaking me awake. And yelling at me. Both annoyed me. I opened my eyes.

Fight or flight mode took over. I could feel my left arm again and, since I’d been able to use it as a weapon before, I swung in the air blindly at whoever the hell this new attacker was. I missed.

“Hah! Nice try. Don’t think I haven’t been expecting that for the last few hours.” A deep, male voice. He spoke with a confidence that could only be rivaled by someone in stories Aloy had told me.

I sat up, wincing as the soreness in my body from earlier still persisted. A quick scan let me know I was in holding all right – a fucking holding cell. The room was dimly lit and tiny – four metal walls and a bare floor. One of the walls had a door – the red lights indicating that it was locked. _Of course it fucking is._

“We’ll have to wait until they come back for one of us before we can leave,” my cellmate explained. Peering into the darkness I could see him – his skin was dark and his head shaved and he seemed to be in his forties, maybe. But that wasn’t the weird part about him. On his face, his arms, and even his head were stripes of glowing bright blue light – the telling sign that this man had GAIA’s machine parts embedded under his skin. A single line of light above his ear told me he also wore a Focus. His clothing was nothing from my world, though.

“You’re not with them?” I asked, still not sure if I could trust him or not.

He chuckled. “Do I _look_ like I’d be in league with those lying bastards?”

I shrugged. “How the fuck should I know? I just got here.” My Focus beeped. I was surprised they’d kept it on me all this time. Not that I knew what “all this time” was.

“Hm. Robert Johnson…I imagine that Focus was not yours,” the man said.

I blinked. “Um…what?”

“Your Focus. You overrode it with your own data but it’s not yours.”

“Oh.” _The hell is he going on about? Why does he even care?_ “It was…it was my dad’s.”

“I see. And you’re Rebecca, then. Or at least, that’s what your Focus leads me to believe.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know, some people just introduce themselves.”

The man gave a crooked smile. “I’m afraid I’ve never really been fond of that ritual.”

I knew who this man was. Aloy had told me about him more than enough times for me to remember and recognize him. “Sylens.”

His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You know me, then? I’ll have to assume this is because of a…mutual acquaintance.”

I pressed my hands against the wall and lifted myself up. “I need to get out of here and I need to get back to Aloy,” I said.

“Aloy?” Sylens asked, eyeing my implants. “She’s not here?”

“They let her go. I made a deal with that freaky clone.”

“A _deal?_ Are you mad? Maybe you’re just suicidal - I am guessing that explains how you got those?” He gestured to my arm and leg.

I glared at him. “That’s none of your fucking business. Now, how do we get out of here? And why are you even here?”

“ _My_ business here is my own, girl. All you need to know is that if you want to get out of here alive, you’re going to have to work _with_ me. I’ve been here for a few months now and their movements have been fairly consistent. We’ll need a diversion for sure and then we need to make sure that we don’t get hit with one of Branwell’s weapons.”

 _Are you kidding me?_ “Oh, is that it? Yeah, I’ll just _dance_ around and distract them while you attack the guard and then we’ll bust out of here like some bad prison breakout show.”

Sylens stared at me, unamused. “You’ve definitely been spending time around Aloy. This is why I prefer to work alone but alas that will not work here.”

“No, it won’t. So, what’s the plan?”

“I heard you took down one of their lackeys with that arm of yours. Only two guards come by here every day to bring me food. I couldn’t take down both of them and escape without being noticed but perhaps with you, we might have a chance.”

I sighed. “So, we fight them but I don’t think we can possibly fight our way through an _army_ of guys with guns.”

Sylens nodded. “If you listen to my instructions carefully and follow them, we won’t need to fight our way through them, Rebecca.”

 _Whatever._ I had nothing else and if I didn’t try _something_ I was going to go crazy being locked up in there. “Becks.”

“What?”

“Becks,” I said. “Only my mom called me Rebecca.”

Sylens didn’t appear to have a strong opinion either way. “As you wish.” He activated his Focus again.

“You were the one that caused all that trouble with HADES in the first place,” I said.

He ignored me and deactivated the Focus. “The guards will be coming by shortly. I’ll explain what I know about this place and how we can get out once they are taken care of.”


	7. A Deal

“Wait for me. I’ll take one down and you’ll get the other.”

I huffed. “What do you mean ‘get the other’? I’m not exactly an expert at beating up armed guards.”

Sylens didn’t find my sarcasm amusing and remained stern. “You’ll do what you have to or we’ll both be stuck here indefinitely.” He nodded to my arm. “You’ve obviously been in situations that require using _that_ so I suggest you figure something out quickly.” He stood by the door and bent down just enough to listen to what was happening outside. “They’re coming. Stand a few steps behind me and be ready.”

I complied, still suspicious of this guy and what his (lack of) plans were for us to get out. Still, he had helped Aloy despite his weird attitude and less than favorable history so I figured I could trust him for now.

We hovered by the door – Sylens just a few steps away from the doorway – as the sound of footsteps grew louder and louder. The door slid open, revealing two guards, just as Sylens had predicted. One of them held two trays of food, while the other held his gun.

“We don’t have all d-,” the first barely got out before Sylens lunged at him and took him down so fast the other guard was taken by surprise. I took his pause as opportunity. _Oh shit, what the fuck am I doing?_ Trying not to think too much, I ran forward and pulled my left arm back before delivering a harsh blow to the guy’s face. It was just for a split-second, but I swore I could feel his cheekbone give in. He was out before he hit the floor.

“ _Shit!_ ” I gasped, covering my mouth as I stared down at the poor guard.

But Sylens just glanced at the unconscious man and then at me, mildly impressed. “Interesting.” He poked his head out of the room to check if anyone was coming and then looked back at me. “Get them in here and let’s go.”

After dragging the fallen guards into the cell, we shut the door and began to head down the corridor.

“Do you even know where we’re going?” I demanded.

“My word, we just met and you complain more than she ever did! Lower your voice!”

I sighed and looked around, nervous as all hell that someone would see us. But there was no one, not even a guard in the corridor that we seemed to be aimlessly wandering down. “Where is everyone?”

“Shift change. There’s a brief period where this area is unguarded. Contrary to your belief, they do not in fact have an army here. Most of these people are scientists.”

I frowned. “And how would you know that?”

“Before I was a prisoner here I was a guest,” Sylens said. “Your people needed something from me and I acquired it for them for a price. After they had what they wanted they betrayed me and held me hostage, just in case they needed more information.” He shrugged. “I spent a great deal of time here before it was rebuilt. I had a feeling this might happen and so I made sure to take note of the place as much as I could before they locked me up.”

“These asswipes are _not_ my people,” I argued.

Sylens raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t they? You’re an Old One are you not? Kept alive through destruction and time by cryogenics?”

“Well, yeah, but we’re not just one big group. I don’t even know these people and-,”

Sylens grabbed me and pulled me back against the wall facing away from the hallway, effectively hiding us from sight. Two guards walked past us.

“They never came back from meal drop-off. Found them in the cell.”

“And the girl?”

“Gone. Her and that weird guy. Langley’s got a facial fracture. You should see it – it’s pretty crazy.” Their voices faded and became unintelligible as they walked away.

Sylens released me. “That was close.” He inspected the path ahead. “Let’s go. We’re out of time if they already found those men.”

“How did you know about the cryogenics?” I asked as we began walking again. I felt a little guilty about breaking that guy’s face, but I tried to focus on getting more information from Sylens.

His tone was cold. “Your mannerisms, your clothing, your strange choice of words – they’re just like that Dr. Branwell and the rest of his cohorts. I assume you came from the same place they did?”

“No,” I said. “My dad-my family had a cryochamber under our home. I woke up a year ago. I didn’t even know about these…these people until now.”

 _Now_ he seemed interested. “And you know Aloy? How?”

I scoffed. “Oh, I see. _I_ have to tell you everything about me but you won’t say shit?” I nodded ahead. “How far are we to an exit? Is there even an exit?”

He chuckled, weirding me out even more (if that was even possible). “There is. Shame. I would have liked to have seen that man beg for his life.”

“Who?”

“Branwell. No one double crosses me,” he stated.

I smirked. “From what Aloy told me, apparently people have. And AIs.”

Sylens shot me a dirty look. “Despite what you may have been told, you don’t know me, so I’ll ask you stop bothering me about my past and focus on what we’re doing here and now.”

“Whatever,” I muttered. This guy was really starting to get on my nerves.

“Up ahead there should be an opening…like a door in the floor. I believe it leads to a system of tunnels under this structure. The tunnels should lead to the outside.”

I strained my eyes to find the door. Nothing. “I don’t see it,” I said as we approached the area he’d spoken of.

“Try using your Focus.” He then muttered something about “having to teach an Old One how to use their own technology”.

Annoyed, I activated my Focus and allowed it to scan the space directly ahead. Sure enough, it picked up a ventilation grate in the floor. “Got it. There’s a vent here.” I noticed the date the Focus had recorded and stopped breathing for a second.

_That can’t be right._

“What is it?” Sylens asked.

“The-the date, it’s…I’ve been here nearly a month!” Where was Aloy? Was she okay? Was she safe? Had she tried to come back for me during that time? What kind of simulation was that thing where I could be in it a full _month_ without knowing? I tried to control my breathing and my thoughts. _Focus on getting out of here. Then you can find Aloy…and answers._

“We don’t have time for this. We need to get through that door and into the tunnels,” Sylens pressed. He seemed nervous now, which only made _me_ more nervous.

“All right, all right.” I found the vent and was able to lift it from the floor easily enough. As I set the grate aside, I noticed Sylens staring at me with interest again. “What?”

He nodded. “You’re unnaturally strong and I’m curious as to why.”

 _We don’t have time for this._ I held up my left arm. “Rebuilt by GAIA. Leg and back, too. There. Can we go, now?”

He didn’t seem too emotionally affected – just continued to stare at me like I was a museum exhibit or something. “How?”

I shook my head and began to climb into the ventilation shaft, where fortunately Sylens had been right and they did lead down to some kind of service tunnel. “Got blown up. Any other questions?”

He kept _staring_ for a few seconds. _So fucking weird._ “Hmm. No. Let’s keep going.”

As we dropped into the tunnels, I couldn’t help but state the obvious. “I’m going to come back and when I do, Clone Bitch and Mad Scientist Guy are going down.”

“They are definitely a danger, considering the weapon they now have at their disposal.”

I froze. _No._ “W-what weapon?”

Another chuckle. “I think you know.”

 _Fuck._ I slowly turned to face him. The tunnels were completely dark save the bright blue glow emanating from both our implants. “W-what the hell did you do?”

“I made a deal with Far Zenith. They promised me the knowledge I’ve spent my entire adult life seeking.” He tapped on his Focus. “Uploaded it directly to my Focus actually. In return, I gave them the missing piece to GAIA. This was of course, before I knew they had yet another clone of Elisabet Sobeck.”

My mind was spinning. “You…you gave them HADES for…for a copy of APOLLO?”

He nodded. “I did. And I would probably do it again. The knowledge I obtained is…indescribable.”

My mouth hung open as I stared at him in horror.

**_“We have thousands in a cryogenic facility waiting to be brought out of sleep…as soon as the world is ready for them of course.”_ **

I knew what their plan was.

“We have to get to Meridian!” I rushed. “We have to find Aloy and put the city on alert before it’s too late.”

Sylens tilted his head. “‘We’?” He gestured to the path behind me. “Our business is concluded. I helped you escape, but you are on your own, now.”

I clenched my fists. “You’re a fucking traitor. I should break _your_ face!”

“Threatening me will get us nowhere,” Sylens’ voice was beyond calm. _Why can’t I meet_ any _normal people here?_ He pointed again. “Go. With luck, you’ll reach Meridian with time to spare. I got here before you and if it’s taken them this long to figure out their plan, perhaps there is still time.”

I wanted to kick his ass. But he was right. I could beat him to a bloody pulp and he’d give me nothing. He had what he needed. And I was free.

Without any parting words, I turned away from Sylens and began to make my way out of the tunnels. He didn’t follow, no doubt waiting until I was a safe distance away from him that he could wander off to wherever the fuck he was going without me knowing.

It took a bit, and I bumped my head more than once on the intricate metal cording that was wired throughout the tunnel but I eventually saw another vent that I was able to push out, revealing the outside world to me once again. The mountainside where GAIA Prime stood as well as the frigid winds and snow greeted me and I’d never been so happy to see it.

Of course, this would have been a lot more convenient if I wasn’t wearing shorts and a fucking tank top. Thankfully, I still had my boots. Memories of my trek in Maker’s End that nearly ended in a very cold death surfaced.

“Perfect,” I grumbled with a shiver. “And no Heph to track me down this time. Great.” _I really need to stop talking to myself out loud._ I took a deep breath and took my first step into the snowy landscape. I could see the cliff ahead that would take me down into more survivable weather. I just needed to live long enough to make it there and down that cliff. Then I could find a town somewhere and get some real clothes.

_And make it to Meridian before it’s too late._


	8. No Time For Questions

“I’ve said it once, girl, and I’ll say it again – _no one_ is allowed entry unless the Sun King himself allows it.”

I glared at the guard before me, not sure if I was more annoyed at the fact that he wouldn’t let me into the palace or that his armor was so fucking shiny that the light reflecting off it just about blinded me to the point where I had to keep squinting at him. “Look, I’ve been here before. Sun King Avad knows me. I met him when I came here with Aloy. You _do_ know Aloy, right?”

The guard growled. “I suppose you’re going to tell me you know the Sun King’s champion as well?”

 _Really?_ That’s _what they’re calling her? She’ll_ hate _that._ “Listen, you. I’ve been on the road for a _long_ time, I’ve had a really shit month, and I’m getting really sick of people ruining my day.”

He smirked. “Not my problem. Now turn around and go back to…” He looked at my clothing – a mismatched collection of Nora and Oseram garments – before shaking his head. “Wherever you came from.”

Sighing, I turned and faced the bustling city of Meridian. It was midday – the sun beat down on the mesa and the heat radiating from the massive metal structures that lined the streets didn’t help at all. 

I was tired, hungry, and sore. I’d traveled all the way from GAIA Prime, stopping only when I needed to and accepting help wherever I could get it. Using my Focus, I had been able to navigate back to Nora territory, where this really nice family had taken pity on me and allowed me to stay with them for the night. They’d given me more suitable clothing the following day and so I continued, taking breaks in a few towns on the way before finally arriving in Meridian earlier in the morning. I’d decided to head to the palace first since I had no idea where Aloy or any of our friends were. Avad hadn’t been especially helpful the last time we approached him for help, but I figured it was worth a try.

 _Fantastic._ This was perfect – the clowns ruling Meridian were of no help, I had no way of contacting Aloy since she had severed any kind of link between Focuses when she took the Eclipse network down (shit, I didn’t even know if she was _all right_ let alone _where_ she was), and it’s not like I knew anyone else that could-

 _Wait._ I was an idiot.

“Hey!” I practically shouted at the guard. He jumped a little and for a small (small) moment, I felt a little guilty. “Do you know where I can find Erend?”

The guard eyed me suspiciously before letting out an exasperated sigh. “And just why should I give out information on the whereabouts of the captain?”

This was getting annoying. I rolled up the thin sleeve on my left arm that covered my implants. I had gotten the sleeve just as a precaution since I didn’t know how people might react when they saw them. I held out my arm toward the guard. His expression rapidly transitioned into one of surprise as he gaped at the glowing blue plates that had been woven into my arm.

“I have a bunch on my leg just like these,” I explained. “I got them on the Bitter Climb a year ago.”

The guard blinked several times before he seemed to find his voice. “You were there, then?”

I rolled down the sleeve. “Yeah. You?”

“I-I was ordered to remain here, but I knew several of the Vanguard who accompanied Aloy and…well, you I suppose.”

Nodding, I decided to try again. “Aloy and I were separated – I haven’t seen her in a month. Do you know where she is?”

His voiced softened. “No. I saw her pass through these gates to see the Sun King, but I did not speak to her.”

 _She was here. She’s okay._ “You saw her? When?”

“She visited a few times, actually. The last I saw her was perhaps…three days ago?” He raised his eyebrows. “I can tell you that Captain Erend is usually seen having a drink just down that street – at the end of the marketplace,” he offered, pointing just ahead and slightly to the right.

I grinned and took off running, shouting back at the bewildered guard. “Thank you! Seriously, thanks!” 

* * *

 

The bar was easy enough to find, though I’m not sure if they even called it a “bar” anymore. _Same purpose, right?_ I took a deep breath before pushing the heavy double doors open, revealing the dimly-lit establishment inside.

There was an awkward, dead silence that filled the room as the patrons – mostly members of the Vanguard – stared at me with momentary interest before returning to their drinks and conversations. I took a step forward, allowing the doors to slam shut behind me.

 _Where are you?_ I tried to stay calm as the beginnings of panic began to creep up. What if I couldn’t find Erend, or worse, what if I _did_ find him and he didn’t know where Aloy was? What if something _had_ happened to Aloy? What if-

 _No._ I shook off the thought. _She’s fine. She_ has _to be. Chill, Becks._ I approached the bar where a very large Carja man was serving drinks to people. He saw me trying to get his attention and turned to face me.

“What can I get you?” His voice was rough, but not unfriendly. I think he just wanted me to order something so that he could get to the next customer. Not that I was an expert on customer service standards in the 31st century.

I cleared my throat. “Uh…actually, I was wondering if you’d seen Captain Erend today.”

The bartender seemed a little annoyed when I didn’t order anything, but gave a short nod anyway. “Back there.” As though on cue, Erend’s booming laugh sounded from the darkest corner of the room. A surge of hope within left a relieved grin on my face as I strode over to where Erend, along with a few other Vanguard, sat at a rickety wooden table that looked like it had seen better days. He looked exactly as I’d remembered him – shaved head, heavy armor, and a rather weird looking beard. He didn’t see me at first as he was way too engrossed in the story he was telling his friends.

“…and Ersa, oh let me tell you – she wouldn’t even _look_ at me for days after that! Even after I- _Becks?!_ ” he exclaimed, standing up with such force that he bumped into the table, spilling over his drink and nearly his friends’ drinks as well.

I wasted no time. “Erend, where’s Aloy? I need to find her and we need to talk to the king and-,”

But Erend ignored me and threw his arms around me in a crushing hug. “You’re alive! What happened to you?! Are you okay?”

Struggling to break free, I gasped, “I’m…fine! Erend… _Erend_ , please – I can’t breathe.”

“Oops,” he muttered and quickly released me. “Becks, what happened? Aloy said-,”

“Where is she?” I cut him off. “Is she all right?”

Erend place his hand on my shoulder. “Yeah, she’s fine. She’s been worried sick about you. Made the trip back to the Bitter Climb a few times but couldn’t get into that place. What happened to you?”

I shook my head. “It’s a long story and I’ll explain everything later but you _have_ to tell me where Aloy is.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and led me away from the table and towards the door. “All right, calm down – she uh…she went up to the cliffs just north of the city. Those people that held you hostage – they’ve built something, Becks. We don’t know what it is.” When he saw my confused expression, he continued. “She should be back later today, though!”

 _Far Zenith. They’ve started._ “Does the king know?”

“No. Aloy doesn’t want to tell him yet. She tried to get him to help rescue you, but-,”

I waved my hand as we left the building. “Yeah, I think I can guess how that went.” _Ugh, it’s fucking hot._

Erend sighed. “It’s nothing personal, Becks. Sun King Avad is-,”

I stopped him. I wanted to get out of there and find Aloy as quickly as possible. “Doesn’t matter. You said she’d be back later?”

Erend seemed concerned, but answered me anyway. “Yeah. Probably in the evening. She’s staying at Olin’s place.” He reached for his belt and pulled a key from one of the pouches. “Here. I’m sure she’ll be relieved to know you’re okay.” He cleared his throat. “You, ah…you _are_ okay, right? They didn’t hurt you or anything?”

I gave a small smile. I’d missed Erend. “Nothing that years of therapy can’t fix.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. I’ll see you later. Thanks, Erend,” I said. Gripping the key, I set off in a brisk walk to Olin’s old house, making my way through the crowded streets and dodging the various sellers who felt they needed to scream at me anyway in their failed attempts to get my attention. 

* * *

 

I poked the fire a few times. _Should keep it going for a bit longer._ Once the sun had set, the temperature plummeted, leaving the house far too cold for my comfort. After traversing the Bitter Climb _in shorts_ , I was so sick of cold weather. And hot weather. And really…everything.

Why was it that after all that shit Aloy and I had gone through together that _something_ still managed to force us to live like the end of the world was upon us? Ted Faro, Jenna, Branwell, Far Zenith, that freaky Sobeck clone and that fake...reality – I was so fucking _sick_ of all of it.

I walked upstairs and sat down on the bed. I glanced at my arm. _Wasn’t this enough?_ And really, I wanted nothing more than to just fall into Aloy’s embrace and stay there forever. And then when forever was over, we could leave this place. This whole region. _Just get away from all of it – all of them._ Far Zenith could do whatever the hell they wanted and Aloy and I could just…stay away from it.

I let out a quiet but harsh laugh. _Nice, Becks. Run away. Mom and Dad would be so proud._

The front door swung open. A rush of cool air filled the house, sending a chill down my spine. “ _Becks?!”_ The door slammed shut.

_That voice._

I barely had time to stand up when she was already at the top of the stairs, panting. Her usual braids were a wild mess and a thin layer of dust and sand covered her face and arms. Her face was flushed – her cheeks a noticeable pink, making her eyes appear a vibrant green.

“You…Erend was telling the truth,” was all she could get out. I made my way to her, my steps slow and heavy on the wood floor.

I raised an eyebrow. “Because he normally lies?”

Aloy held out her hands and I took them in mine. My heart ached when I saw the guilt, guilt that seemed to overwhelm her. I wanted to cry.

“Becks…I tried-,” she started.

 _Hell, no._ “S-shut up,” was my choked reply before I grabbed the cloth collar of her armor and pulled her toward me, our mouths colliding in a messy kiss. In an instant, her arms were wrapped around my waist and she was kissing me so hard that her teeth were pressing into my lips and it actually kind of hurt. But I didn’t care. I was with Aloy and she was alive and safe. I knew she had so many questions for me and I for her, but the moment she started tugging at my shirt fasteners and moving her lips toward my neck was the moment any fucks I had given about Far Zenith or my stay with them had gone out the window. They had taken a month from us – the least we could do was get one night back.


	9. Dismantle

I don’t remember falling asleep. I realized this as I opened my eyes with hesitation, expecting to be greeted by a wild animal or worse, a machine. Through my blurry vision and in my half-sleep state, I guessed it was just after sunrise based on the pink and orange glow coming from the slivers of sunlight that crept into the room.

 _Room?_ I blinked a few times, the ceiling coming into focus before I took note of the soft bedding beneath me. _I didn’t sleep in the wild last night._ _I’m in…Meridian?_ This was Olin’s old house. Avad had given it to Aloy when-

_Aloy._

It all came back. My trek from GAIA Prime to Meridian, harassing that city guard for information, tracking down Erend in that bar – all of it had led up to me coming back to the house, where Aloy found me hours later.

As though on cue, the bed creaked as weight shifted from the far edge to where I was. I grinned and gave a quiet laugh as the memories settled. _Right._

She wrapped an arm around me and rested her head on my chest – wisps of her disheveled hair tickling me as it brushed against my face. Her voice was clear, like she’d been awake for a while. “What’s so funny?”

I kissed the top of her head. “Nothing. Was just…thinking about last night.”

Aloy was quiet as she began to trace random patterns on my stomach with her finger. When she didn’t say anything, I spoke again. “Having fun?”

She stopped and let her hand rest on my bare skin. “Sorry.” She said something else, but the words came out muffled.

“What?” I asked.

Aloy glanced up at me, her eyes practically shimmering in the early dawn light. “Was it…better?”

 _Huh?_ I was still waking up and not much registered clearly at the moment. “Was what better?”

She bit her lip. “The other place. Wherever they sent you while you were there.”

 _Oh._ I frowned and shook my head. I had told Aloy everything about the weird simulation Branwell had put me through. She hadn’t said much at the time, but I could see now that it was bothering her. “It was never real. I don’t know how the hell they did it, but it was all a lie.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Her words made my heart ache and my throat tighten.

 _No._ I wasn’t going to let that bullshit get in the way of us, not after everything we’d been through. “Hey,” I said, rolling onto my side and facing her. I reached out and pulled her close to me, our foreheads touching. “No, it wasn’t ‘better’. Not by a longshot. The entire time I was in that…thing, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. It wasn’t obvious at first because the simulation kept trying to trick me, I think, but as soon as your name came to me, I snapped out of it.”

I swore I heard her breath hitch, but Aloy had composed herself before I could notice it for long. “But you saw your family and-,”

I stopped her. “My parents? Dennis? They’re gone, Aloy. So is…so is Jenna. You were there – you saw.” The tightening worsened, and I found myself having to blink back tears. It had been a while since their deaths had gotten to me and it had only become more painful to think about since being in the simulation.

“I know,” she whispered.

I wasn’t about to let her feel bad for something she couldn’t control, something she had done nothing but help me get through ever since I woke up from cryo sleep. “Then you know that the only person that matters to me more than anything right now is _you_.” I kissed her forehead. “ _You’re_ my family. Okay?”

Aloy gave a short nod, the corners of her mouth turning upward just enough that I was able to relax a bit. “Okay.” She pressed her lips against mine – the kiss brief and with soft hesitation. “I missed you, Becks. I tried to get you out of there – tried to break into GAIA Prime, but…I couldn’t do it.” She sounded disappointed in herself, but I could also hear traces of defiance in her voice. It was almost like she was…ashamed? This whole ordeal had taken a toll on us, definitely, but I got the impression that Aloy wasn’t used to “losing” when it came to trials or obstacles in her way.

“It’s all right,” I declared. “I’m fine, you’re fine, and we’re here now.” I didn’t want to go through this again, honestly. We were together again and that was all that mattered. As far as I was concerned, everyone else could go fuck themselves. “Also,” I added, “no offense, but this has to be the crappiest ‘good morning’ I’ve ever gotten.”

Aloy smirked, and I let out a sigh of relief when I heard the teasing in her voice. “Sorry,” she said. Without warning, she reached around me and rolled over, taking me with her in one swift movement with me ending up on top of her. I barely had time to react before she strengthened her hold on me and kissed me again, her tongue dancing with mine – reigniting the fire that burned with such intensity the night before. I shuddered as her hands grazed up and down my back, quickly realizing how difficult it was to keep up with her as I was still waking up.

She pulled away slowly, moving a hand to push some of my hair out of my face. “Was that acceptable?”

I tried to laugh, but in my breathless state it came out sounding more like a horse snorting which led to Aloy giving me a strange look followed by the two of us bursting into laughter.

“Yes, very,” I answered once we’d finally calmed down. My stomach rumbled loud enough for her to notice.

“Hungry?”

I nodded. “I’ve just been eating whatever I could get the last few days. Be nice to get some real food.”

“I have some here. I’ll go hunting later if we need more.”

 _Later._ Her words reminded me of what Erend had told me the day before. I rolled off Aloy, settling beside her. “Aloy…Far Zenith – what did they build?”

She sighed, and I wondered if perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything just yet. We’d only been together again for a few hours and here I was bringing up the shitty organization responsible for separating us for a fucking _month_. “North of the city, on the top of the cliffs there, where we found AETHER – they used machines to build some kind of bunker. It’s finished, but it’s heavily guarded.” She shook her head. “I think…I think they knew I would try to stop them.”

“A bunker? A bunker for _what?_ ” This didn’t make sense. Far Zenith had control of GAIA Prime. They’d used it as their headquarters for a couple months at least and it seemed to work fine for them. Unless…

“Fuck,” I breathed, sitting up.

Aloy sat up as well. “What? What is it?”

I turned to her. “HADES. After I…woke up, I tried to escape but they threw me in a jail cell instead. Your friend, Sylens, was there.”

Aloy’s eyes widened. “ _Sylens?_ ”

“Yeah. He helped me escape.” I took a deep breath. I knew she wasn’t going to like what I was about to say. “Aloy, he…he’s had HADES this entire time. And he traded it to them for a copy of APOLLO!”

Her eyes flashed with anger as she clenched her fists. “That-I can’t…what was that bastard _doing_ there in the first place?”

I put my hand on her arm. “He wasn’t exactly eager to share information.”

“Sounds like Sylens,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “But why would Far Zenith want HADES? What do they want with GAIA? And why did they take you?”

“Branwell and the other crazies there believe that GAIA failed when the cradles created new humans. They want to have control over how the earth is repopulated.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed and scanned the room for my clothes, which I found in a convenient pile on the floor a few steps away.

Aloy’s brow furrowed in confusion as she stared straight ahead. “But...how can they…?” She stopped, her expression quickly transitioning from puzzled to horror. “HADES,” came her realization. She turned to me. “MINERVA.”

“Activate the Faro machines and have them only destroy the humans,” I said, the words feeling weird as they left just from the sheer insanity of it all. “It must be a manual override, but I think they’ve been having trouble getting it to work properly, otherwise they would have done it by now.”

“And the…simulation?” I saw her discomfort as she pronounced the word. “What’s the point of that?”

I threw the tunic on and began working on my pants. “Still not sure. Something about how the process might take a long time and they want to use it on the people that are still in cryo sleep.” I fastened the pants. “I think they were testing it out on me.”

“Where are these people? The ones still in cryo sleep?”

“No idea,” I said before taking a seat on the bed next to her. “And I have no clue how we can stop them.” _If that’s even an option, anymore._ My thoughts surprised me but only for a moment as I recalled my musings the previous night. I sighed. “I don’t even know if it’s worth it, honestly, Aloy.”

She blinked a few times, obviously caught off guard by what I said. “What? How can you say that? Of course it’s worth it.”

**_Wasn’t this enough?_ **

I met her gaze again. The frustration and anger that had manifested last night came out again. “Is it? Is it, really? Why?”

“We didn’t get GAIA working again just so these people could ruin everything, Becks!” She stood up and started getting dressed.

That hit a sore spot. **_Just get away from all of it – all of them._**

“No. _I_ didn’t get half my fucking body blown up just so I could risk getting the _other_ half blown up, too! These people are dangerous, Aloy. We walked into their trap and they got to test out their stupid simulation for a fucking _month._ Now they have HADES and…and I don’t-I don’t think we need to be here for that.” I lowered my voice - looked away from her. “I don’t want to be here for that.”

Once Aloy had finished getting dressed, she turned to me, hands on her hips. “I don’t understand, Becks – you’d rather the world _end?_ Because that’s what they want.”

**_“We could have our lives back. Not this…whatever the hell this place has become.”_ **

“I don’t know!” I exclaimed, shaking my head. “I don’t know. It’s not that simple-,”

“Oh yes, it is,” she said, cutting me off. “If you walk away – if _we_ walk away, they will figure out their plan and they will use HADES and _everything_ will be destroyed!”

**_A dark room. His skin – rotting, reflecting the flickering purple solid-state lighting. Ashes floating down, the fire raging below._ **

**_“SYSTEM DETECTS LIFEFORMS APPROACHING.” Red light._ **

_No._ I glared at her, not caring that it was _Aloy_ I was talking to. No, I was too angry for this shit. “Since when do you care, Aloy? What the fuck have these people ever done for you? Cast you out? Treated you like dirt? Like a nobody? Shit, fucking Avad wouldn’t even help us stop Ted and he won’t help us with this either.” I stood up. My hands were shaking. “You’re not responsible for the world because someone else fucked it up.”  I knew I was out of line – that I was being unfair. Aloy had every right to be pissed at me for my behavior, especially after everything I knew she’d been through.

And oh, was she pissed. She didn’t raise her voice, but her quiet, assertive tone held enough weight in it that I could practically see the anger emanating from her. “We both know the reason I’m here is _because_ someone fucked up the world, Becks. Your civilization is gone but for some reason _your_ people keep trying to end the world.”

“What? You can’t blame _me_ for what Faro did! Or Branwell!” I began pacing back and forth next to the bed.

**_“You’re incredible…”_ **

“I’m not, but you can’t stand there and tell me you want to just walk away from all of it? Just give up and let everyone _die_ -,” she said.

I didn’t want to hear anymore. I spun around and used my left fist to smash through the closest wall, letting out a scream of rage. The wood panels easily broke apart, sawdust and splinters crumbling onto the floor. A decent-sized hole now graced the impact spot.

We stood in a shaky silence for what seemed like forever until Aloy finally spoke. “Becks…”

I stared at the wall before slowly turning to face her again. The anger had dissipated – released in my violent outburst – but there was something remaining, something I’d pushed away for longer than I should have.

Grief. Guilt. _Regret._ The simulation had been fake - I knew that, but I admitted that a part of me desperately wanted it to be real.

**_“It would have been better.”_ **

“I’m…I’m sorry. I can’t, Aloy. I just-how many more times are we going to risk our lives before we stop getting lucky?” I held up my hand, now covered in superficial scrapes. A fine dust from the wall coated the blue light plates on my arm. “Look at _this_ and tell me if it’s still worth it.”

Her anger was gone as well – replaced as she stared at me, sadness filling her eyes, saying nothing. Instead of giving her a chance to respond, I grabbed the spear and pack I had acquired on the way to Meridian and gave her one more longing glance before making my way down the stairs and out the front door.


	10. Repair

_Nice work, Becks. Next time, try to be_ more _of an asswipe. Need to make sure that there’s absolutely no way she’ll want you back there._ Not that Aloy would. As angry as I had been, I knew I had no right to say the things I did to her.

I glanced down at my scraped-up hand as I stormed through the market district of Meridian and shook my head – disappointed at myself. _She knows what I went through. She knows why I don’t want to do this anymore. We shouldn’t have argued._ I could have just said that to begin with instead of punching a hole in the wall like a fucking barbarian.

 _Ugh. Maybe we should have waited. What if_ this _is just a sign that we moved too fast? What if-_

_No. Can’t think that way. It won’t help anything._

The sun had been up for a bit when I saw the merchants of Meridian begin to make their way to their carts, getting ready the day. I paused and opened my pack to inspect its contents. There were a few machine parts I had collected during my journey as well as some wrapped pieces of food – a combination of meat and dry rations I had either caught myself or picked up in one of the small towns. _Could probably sell some of this._ I didn’t have a plan - not really - but I figured as long as I was out walking about I might as well get some shards to bring back to Aloy. _Assuming she’ll even speak to me._

I closed my pack and slung it over my shoulder before continuing and surveyed the selection of carts before me. All sold different things – some food, others weapons and hunting supplies. _Maybe one of these people will want to trade._  

 _And then what?_ Aloy was right. Even if we did leave, we had to assume Far Zenith would succeed in their crazy plan to activate HADES. I wasn’t naïve enough to think that the Carja or the Nora or any of the other clans had even the slightest chance of defeating an organization with 2060s technology _plus_ GAIA’s help. But this wasn’t like before. We didn’t have subordinate function cores to put in place or a ring to get. These psychos saw me as nothing more than a test subject and thought even less of Aloy. I had no idea how we could possibly stop them, but I also knew that I just wanted for Aloy and I to have a _chance_ of living a normal life together.

 _“Normal”. What the hell was that again?_ I sighed. Maybe it was time I finally admitted that my life stopped being “normal” the second I went into that cryo tank – probably even before that.

 _Whatever_. I tried to push the argument and depressing thoughts from my mind. _Just get the damn shards and go back._

“ _Becks!_ ” A familiar voice. _Not Aloy._ Something about the voice, or maybe just the memory of it that I couldn’t recall irked me. I ignored it and kept walking – my destination: a guy standing behind a small cart on the other side of the dusty street that looked to be selling weapons and armor.

“Becks!” This time the call was much closer. I spun around and nearly lost my balance when I came face to face with none other than Talanah, Aloy’s friend from the Hunter’s Lodge. Her dark hair was pulled back and she was outfitted in full hunting gear. A massive bow made from machine parts hung on her back. I hadn’t seen her since that day on the Bitter Climb when we stopped Faro and Jenna from taking over GAIA. When I first met Talanah, I wasn’t a huge fan of hers – she was very friendly with Aloy, a bit _too_ friendly despite Aloy’s insistence that Talanah only saw her as something close to a younger sibling. I still wasn’t completely convinced, but she _did_ help us take down Ted so I had to give her credit for that.

“Oh…hey, Talanah.” I gave an awkward wave. “How’s it going?” I wasn’t sure what to say. _Wish Erend was here. At least I actually know what to say to him._ If Aloy had been around it would have been easier since she usually did all the talking.

Instead of answering, Talanah lunged forward and threw her arms around me, nearly knocking me off balance. “It’s good to see you again!” She pulled away and looked me over, her excited gaze gravitating to my hand. “You-how are you feeling? Is Aloy here? I haven’t seen her in some time – I just got back from a rather long excursion.”

“Oh.” I kicked at the ground a little. “Um, I’m good. Better…uh, you?”

Her smile did not falter. “I’m great. Picked off a Sawtooth and two Glinthawks last week. You know one of those stupid machines actually tried to steal the armor off my back during a fight?”

The thought of a Glinthawk swooping down and trying to steal Talanah’s armor was too funny to not picture and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry. Glad that it didn’t, um…get away with it.”

Talanah huffed. “The fight definitely could have gone a lot smoother but hey, I got the trophies and it’s not as though I had anyone there to judge my techniques.”

“Your secret’s safe with me,” I said.

“Thanks.” She tilted her head, giving me a curious stare. “So, is Aloy here in Meridian with you?”

I didn’t feel right telling Talanah every detail of the argument I had with Aloy. “Yeah, she’s here – she’s back at the house.” I pointed to my pack. “I was just going to sell some stuff before heading back.”

Her smile returned. “Ah. Well, good! Must be nice to have things back to normal.”

 _Hah. “Normal”. If only she knew._ Her words gave me pause – layering on my earlier thoughts about what my life had become. _No. What_ our _lives had become._

I looked at my hand again – the scrapes already scabbing over, the dust from the wood covering most of the cuts. _I am such an idiot._ I made a promise to Aloy over a year earlier – the promise _we_ made when we realized we couldn’t see a future without each other. Running away might keep us safe for a short while, but I knew she wouldn’t be happy knowing that people, even if they would never be _her_ people, were future victims of the destruction that Far Zenith was prepared to unleash. There _had_ to be a way to stop them, sabotage their projects and keep them from using HADES.

_Hm._

I looked back at Talanah as an idea began to form in my mind. It was a long shot, but it was all I had. “Hey, I know this probably sounds really weird, but I need a favor. Can you help me?”

She seemed genuinely surprised for a few seconds before she spoke. “Oh! Of course. What do you need?”

I told her my plan, or at least what I had of it so far. When I finished, she stared back at me, one eyebrow raised. “You sure you don’t want to go get Aloy first?”

“I’m sure,” I said. “I have a theory, but I won’t know if it’s possible unless I check it out first. Once I know for sure, we can go back to the house and talk to her.”

“Well…all right.” She rolled her shoulders back, jostling her bow a little. “I’ll follow you then?”

* * *

 

“I’m pretty sure Aloy will _not_ be happy when she learns about this.”

I snorted. “Probably not, but if I’d told her first she would have tried to keep me from going.” I spotted movement ahead of the spread of tall grasses where we hid. Several meters ahead I could see the suspiciously sophisticated metal walls of the newly constructed Far Zenith base. The architecture left no question that GAIA and HEPHAESTUS had built this structure. “Shh, something’s coming.”

A blue light was all I could make out at first. It bounced slightly as it approached.

“Watcher,” Talanah whispered. She reached for her bow. I grabbed her wrist.

“Don’t. They’ve got control of _every_ machine. We alert one – we could alert them all.”

She seemed puzzled but lowered her arm anyway. The Watcher let out a few clicks and waddled past as we remained undetected. “You going to tell me what this is all about?”

I took a deep breath. “Did Aloy ever tell you about GAIA?”

Talanah nodded. “A fair bit. I only know that it’s a being of great power that helped us stop the metal demon from destroying Meridian. That man we tracked last year – he wanted control of it.”

“Right. Ted,” I said, the name leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. “These people – they’re called Far Zenith, and they tried to take over GAIA twenty years ago. They’re from my-they’re Old Ones. Like me.” I looked at the ground, trying not to feel guilty for something I didn’t do, even though these people were from my civilization. “Like Ted.”

Talanah made an affirmative noise. “This is all _really_ strange and a little hard to believe, but I gotta say - you people from the Metal World are something else.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t I know it. They survived the same way I did and made a…copy of Aloy. They used her to take control of GAIA and the machines.”

Her dark eyes widened. “That doesn’t sound good. Aloy should really be here, Becks. Surely, she should know-,”

“She does. She’s been here. We-we tried to stop them at the Bitter Climb over a month ago and…and failed. They took me hostage and she tried to get me out, but…” I shook my head. “Look, we have to stop them now. I have an idea, but if Aloy knew I was here there’s no way in hell she’d let me try it. I just need to get close enough to the entrance to get a scan with my Focus.”

“Why do you need me here then if not for my bow?”

I held up my hand. “I’ll tell you in a minute. Just stay behind me and keep an eye out for machines, okay?” I crept forward through the grass, Talanah following close behind me. _Aloy is going to be pissed._

Finally, I had a good view of the bunker entrance. A single blast door stood at the end of a long metal catwalk that had been bolted into the rocky ground. The door was closed – there were no guards posted but Watchers prowled the area. _Probably inside – monitoring everything like the creeps they are._

I activated my Focus and sure enough, the door had a holographic lock on the front of it. “Perfect.”

“What? What’s perfect? What are you doing?” Talanah craned her neck to try and see what I was doing with my Focus.

“Hang on. Just getting what I need and…” I waited while the Focus scanned the door. The reticle turned from white to green as the Focus recorded the door’s signature. “There!” I turned back to Talanah. “Give me just a second to get this ready for Aloy.”

“Aloy? Why? What did you just do?”

I quickly brought up an interface and began configuring the next step of my plan. “There’s a device that Aloy used to shut down HADES when it attacked Meridian. It’s called a master override. Either she still has it or it’s still at MINER-the Spire.”

 **COMPILATION COMPLETE. NO ERRORS. DEPLOYMENT READY. CONFIRM?** _Hell, yes._ My teachers would have strongly disapproved if they knew what I’d written. Mom would have lectured me on responsibility and Dad would have nodded behind her and later asked to see it. Jenna would have been amused and probably would have asked to borrow it. It was beyond crude and in any system from my time it would have been scrubbed immediately.

The good news was that this system wasn’t built in my time.

Talanah gave a quick scan to check if we had any visitors before returning her attention to me. “All right. What about it?”

 _Done._ “Okay, so she needs to use the master override on the door to get in.”

She gave me a tentative glance. “What did you do?”

“I uploaded a vir-uh, it’s a thing that's going to let Aloy use the override to get into that bunker,” I said, pointing at the structure ahead. “If I’m right, and I think I am, what I made is so old that they won’t even think to look for it.”

“And why can’t we just get her and do that now?”

I sighed. She wasn’t going to like this, either. “Because I need time to get in there and find out the differences in that clon-in that copy of Aloy. There’s got to be some log of it _somewhere._ These people are meticulous and probably keep logs of everything. Once I do that, we can figure out a way to use that override to take control of GAIA and maybe stop all this.”

Talanah looked at me before directing her gaze at the bunker and then back to me, her expression lighting up with realization. “You’re going to offer yourself to them. Becks, you can’t-,”

“There’s no other way,” I said, surprising myself with my own confidence.

“What if they hurt you? Aloy would never forgive me.”

“They won’t. At least, I don’t think they will. I need for you guys to buy me time to see this through. Aloy…hopefully she’ll understand that.” I met her eyes. “I know you risked your life helping us last year, Talanah, but please trust me when I say this will be terrible for everyone if we don’t stop them. I-we could use your help again. Erend’s, too.”

She gave me an apologetic look. “I don’t know, Becks…”

I grasped her wrist. “Please. Tell Aloy everything and ask her to tell you what we learned about Far Zenith.”

“And just how are you going to…’take control’ once they capture you?” she demanded.

 _Yeah. Good question._ “Uh, well, if I got out once, I can do it again.” I shrugged. “I’ll figure it out.” _And this time Branwell isn’t getting within ten feet of me if I can help it._ When Talanah still hesitated, I held out my arm to make a point. “I’ve been training with Aloy. Trust me – I’m tougher than I look.”

She said nothing, and for a long moment, only the faint snapping of the tall grass swaying in the breeze filled the silence between us.

“Aloy is going to kill me.”

I grinned and prepared to make my run to the door. “Do me a favor. Tell her I’m sorry and that it’s my fault.”


	11. Virus

My eyes struggled to adjust to the white light that engulfed the room. “Wha-?” was all I could get out as feelings both foreign and familiar set in.

I was on my back, the surface beneath me hard, unforgiving and cold. I moved my hands, grasping the edges of the surface with my fingers. _Table?_

My vision finally cleared, revealing the room before me. The walls were white, lit by dozens of brilliant white beacons installed in the reflective metal ceilings. There was nothing in the room save the table I was on and an open door several paces away.

 _Where the hell am I?_ I suppose I should have been used to waking up in unfamiliar places, but this weird, sterile room was by far the most unsettling. Something was wrong – I could feel it in my gut – but I couldn’t place what it was.

A whirring sounded from just outside the door, making me tense up in fear. I sat up slowly, just in time to see the blue light cast on the doorframe. _Something’s out there._

I wanted a weapon – a knife, my spear, a gun, _something._ But aside from the table and the clothes on my back, I had nothing. I reasoned I could use my arm if things got messy, but-

 _My arm._ I _knew_ something felt off as I looked down and let out a quiet gasp. There were no lights. No metal. No scars. No pieces of machinery built by a self-aware machine. It was just…mine.

The furs and hide I wore were gone – replaced by the plaid button-down and torn jeans I wore way too much. _But not since…_

I shivered as my blood turned to ice. _Far Zenith._ This wasn’t their base. Where the fuck was I?

More whirring, followed by a click. _I know that sound._ I clenched my fists before hopping off the table and began taking small steps toward the sound. Closer and closer until…

The Watcher’s head popped into view from whatever lie outside of the room – its blue light flashing intermittently and alternating between brightness settings.

_“BECKS.”_

I stopped. _It_ can’t _be._ “H-Heph?”

The Watcher tilted its head at me but said nothing.

“Heph, is that you?” Still no reply. I was confused but I _know_ what I heard. Only one machine…AI…thing I’ve ever met sounded like that.

As though on cue, the Watcher clicked at me and then turned to walk away.

“Wait!” I cried, forgetting all about the fact that I still had no idea where the hell I was. I rushed out of the room to catch up to it, running into a long corridor that was also way too bright and way too white. _Whoever decorated this place needs a soul…and some color swatches._

The Watcher…or Heph, or whatever it was stopped at the end of the corridor where it turned to face me with a beckoning click before hopping into another nearby room. I glanced around briefly just to make sure there was no one else here, which there wasn’t (for some reason), and followed, my pace quickening after a few steps before breaking in a full run, the lights flashing in my eyes every time my feet hit the ground.

I reached the other room. There was no door – just a doorway. An eerie silence emanated from the inside.

“Heph?” I called, my voice reverberating endlessly down the hallway. With a deep breath, I took a step into the room…and did a double take.

It was dark. No walls. Not even a ceiling. Hell, there was no floor either – and yet somehow, I had ended up in the center of the room and I couldn’t remember how I got there. There were grid lines - streaks of glowing holographic wire that framed the room. They reminded me of something, but I couldn’t quite place it.

And where was Heph? The Watcher was nowhere in sight and there were no other exits in the room. Just darkness and the wireframes of patterns I recognized from somewhere.

A ripple. It hit me. _This isn’t real._ I was in another simulation, like the one Branwell had trapped me in. _Fuck._

That meant something had happened. A rush of thoughts slammed into me and everything I’d forgotten about refreshed in my mind. Sobeck. Far Zenith.

_Aloy._

I needed to get out of there. It was a miracle I was even _aware_ of what was happening. The simulation could have been broken or bugged?

 _The virus!_ I mean, it was only supposed to bug out the door so that Aloy and the others could get in but it seemed to have affected the simulation as well. But how did I even end up there? When did they capture me?

“Becks?” _That voice._

The wireframe and simulation artifacts were gone. I was outside – a perfectly nice, clear – but very cold – winter day, standing on the main path that ran through the park closest to my house. Snow covered the ground and lined the branches of barren trees for as far as I could see, covering the benches and playground a few steps away as well. The lake had frozen over – there were usually a few skaters making their rounds but not today. The park might as well have been a ghost town.

 _Where is everybody?_ I turned, spotting the old bridge that overlooked the stream flowing from the lake. It had been there forever – built sometime in the 40s when there was this big effort to repair a bunch of the parks in the city. Jenna and I used to grab lattes after class and hang out on the bridge until it started getting dark and we had to head home for dinner.

A breeze swept through, making me shiver. _Why am I_ always _underdressed whenever I’m somewhere that’s really, really cold lately?_ I knew something was off – that this still was a simulation, despite how real it all felt. Still, my brain naturally tried to process the situation before me and come up with a solution.

 _My house._ I didn’t even know _when_ the simulation took place, but I did know two things: the Faro Plague hadn’t arrived here yet (if it ever would) and my house was still standing. _Could probably go there and get some proper clothing. Then I can figure out how to get out of here._

“Becks.”

I turned, and like some kind of freaky magic trick, the park was bustling with people. Kids screamed and laughed on the playground while their parents watched them from the benches. On the lake, some guys were trying to get a hockey game started. A girl and her Labrador zoomed past me, the music from her Focus no doubt keeping her oblivious to everything but her route. It was still impossible to tell what day or what year it was as I slowly spun around, trying to take it all in.

I froze when I saw her.

She was nearly unrecognizable at first and it was no wonder as for once she wasn’t wearing her Shield Weaver armor. _People probably would be freaking out if they saw her in that. Or…assume she was some kind of lost street performer._ In a beanie, blue winter coat, jeans, and black boots, she could have been a girl from one of my classes. Even her braids, normally wild and disheveled, were tamer – as though she’d been living here in my suburb her entire life and didn’t have to worry about surviving in the wilderness or hunting 31st century death machines.

“Aloy,” I breathed. “I-what are you doing here?” I rushed over to her, taking her gloved hands in mine. My feet began to go numb as I was only wearing my old running shoes.

She glanced at the kids on the playground, then up at the sky, and finally back at me. Her eyes, which leaned more towards a vibrant green in the sunlight, were heavy with worry…but I also spotted relief, and maybe even a little awe.

“Becks,” she said, not bothering to hide her confusion. “What is this? Where are we?” She looked me over, her eyes studying my outfit in particular. “Why did you leave?”

I cringed, remembering our fight from earlier and the things I said. I gave her hands a squeeze. “Did Talanah give you my message?”

Aloy nodded. “She found me. We got Erend and…” Her eyes went wide. “We need to find them!”

“Wait, so you got inside the facility?” I pulled her down the path with me and started to head in the direction of my house, keeping my voice low just in case.

“We did, but then…then I…” She grimaced, as though she was struggling to retrieve a memory that wasn’t there. “I _know_ we did. But I don’t… _remember_ how I got here.” Looking up at the sky again, she muttered, “Wherever ‘here’ is.”

I inhaled deeply. “This is going to sound crazy, but you’re in my city. We’re a few blocks away from my house.” I paused. “None of this is real, though. It’s…some kind of simulation that crazy clone bitch and Branwell made.”

Aloy stopped. “Like the one you were trapped in?”

“Yeah,” I said. “But something’s definitely different. I-,” _Wait._ I touched my Focus. _13:15, January 15 th, 2066. _“What the hell?” _Guess I’m not engaged in this timeline._

“What?” Aloy answered her own question by activating her Focus as well. “Two thousand…that can’t be right!”

“It’s the simulation,” I explained. “It’s not real – but…” I looked up. The sky was clear. No signs of atmospheric damage. _There’s no Faro Plague._ “Everyone should be-should be dead.”

“The date.” Aloy was scanning through her Focus entries. “I know this date, it’s…it’s the day Enduring Victory fell. And,” she flipped through a few more logs – clear that she was looking for a very specific entry, “it’s the day Elisabet saved the Alphas when GAIA Prime’s door had to be sealed,” she finished quietly.

I put my arm around her waist to comfort her, marveling at how calm she was about the entire situation. Then again, I’d already told her about my experience from before, so maybe she just kept that in mind? “Whatever this is, they’ve changed things so that the Faro robots never malfunctioned. Come on.” I tugged on her sleeve and began to lead her down the path again.

* * *

 

The house was still there, and it was nothing like the ancient ruin we had found the last time we went there together. I’d forgotten how big it was, but when Dad got promoted a lot of things changed for my family’s finances and Mom wanted a nice big house that they could pass down to Dennis and I someday. We had to pass through a gate where the security guard recognized me and gave us a friendly nod before letting us pass.

“Here we are,” I announced, gesturing to the house.

Despite the very, very weird situation we were in, Aloy smirked. _Well no shit – it’s right there in front of her._

“This is where you live?” she asked, and this time the awe in her voice was unmistakable.

I grinned. “Yeah. Well, where I _lived_.” I turned to face her. “Aloy, remember – this is all an illusion. I don’t know why they put us both here completely aware, but just know you’re probably going to see and talk to people that look and feel like they’re really there but…they’re not.”

Aloy shuddered as a puff of cold air left her lungs. “I understand, Becks.” She leaned in, her lips brushing against mine for only a moment before she pulled away. “Lead the way.”

Taking her hand again, I took her up the brick path leading to the front door. The snow had been recently shoveled away and most of the landscaping was hidden under the icy white blanket that covered most of the yard. When we arrived on the porch, I reached out and felt for the activation panel on the door. It beeped at my touch and hummed for a few seconds before giving off a familiar chirp as the light above turned from blue to green. The door opened and Aloy and I stepped into the foyer.

“Mom?” I called as I wiped my feet on the entry mat. Aloy observed me before doing the same, though she really just succeeded at getting melted snow on the floor.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I said with a shrug. “That happens to me- _happened_ to me all the time.”

“Rebecca, is that you? Where _were_ you?” Mom strode into the foyer, her hands covered in flour. She glanced at me with a mix of worry and disapproval as she put her hands on her hips. “I tried calling your Focus _twice_ , but you didn’t answer.”

I groaned. _Why can’t they drop me in an imaginary timeline where I’m actually responsible and answer my damn calls?_ “Sorry, Mom. I must have…been in class.”

She sighed. “Well, next time could you check your missed calls at least? Your father and I didn’t get you that Focus just so you could talk to Jenna all night and take vintage selfies.”

I had to hold back a laugh at this. As creepy as this was, at least the Far Zenith psychos made a pretty accurate simulation of my mom.

I realized Mom was waiting for me to say something about the new (and kind of awkward) redhead in the room. I cleared my throat. “Uh, Mom, this is Aloy. She’s my gir- _friend._ My friend from school.”

Mom gave me a suspicious look before turning to Aloy and smiling. “Hi, Aloy, I’m Sarah. Please forgive my daughter’s rudeness,” she said, not seeing the giant eye roll I gave her. “I’m just working on dinner right now. Rebecca’s father and brother should be home in a few hours since we’re celebrating tonight! Will you be joining us?”

“What are we celebrating?” I blurted.

“Rebecca, that’s hardly funny,” Mom scolded. “You know how hard your brother worked to get that design position. I know the two of you don’t always get along, but can you _please_ make an effort to be nice, just for tonight?”

I nodded. “Of course, Mom. And uh…” I nodded at Aloy, who was staring up and around at the entrance of the house – a look of wonder crossing her features. “Aloy was going to stay too, and probably for the night if that’s okay? We have an exam tomorrow.”

“Certainly.” Mom beamed at Aloy. “You’re of course welcome here, Aloy. Now, I should get back to it,” she said, showing us her hands. “Try not to snack too much before dinner, Rebecca.”

“I won’t, Mom,” I said. Once she left, I turned to Aloy. “Sorry,” I said in a quiet tone. “They did a pretty convincing job with her.”

Aloy glanced in the direction Mom had walked away before looking at me with a curious look. “Was…was that really your mother? How she was?”

“Yeah,” I said, the regret in my voice coming out more than I would have liked. “But um…you know, it’s not _really_ her.”

“You look a bit like her.” She looked up again. “This is really where you lived?”

“You’ve been here before.”

“This is different. I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said.

I grinned. We were in a shitty situation, but it could have been way worse. _At least we’re together._ “Come on,” I said as I grabbed her hand again and dragged her to my bedroom.


	12. What We Could Have Had

I let her enter the room first, then followed before shutting the door behind us. I shook my head as I looked around. Same bed (apparently, I made my bed on a consistent basis in this timeline), same desk (it was pretty clean – I always appreciated a neat desk), same stupid ancient print posters of bands I liked that Dennis made fun of me for having.

“Er…this is it!”

Aloy didn’t say anything. At first, I thought something was wrong (well, even _more_ wrong – our situation was pretty fucked as it was), but when she turned around it was obvious she was more intrigued than anything.

“This is…where you sleep?”

I nodded. “Yeah,” I said and walked past her to sit on my bed. _So weird._ The bed looked and felt like _my_ bed, right down to the fluffy down comforter and possibly more pillows than was really necessary. At the base of the pillows sat a small stuffed otter. “Actually, I used to spend most of my time in here.” I stopped and corrected myself. “Not _here._ ”

“Because this isn’t real. I know, Becks.” She shifted a bit, a slight grimace taking over the curiosity on her face. It didn’t take me long to figure out what it was.

“You know, you can take that coat off. We have heating here,” I told her. She blinked at me – most likely trying to figure out what I meant by “heating” –  before she started to remove the heavy coat. She had some difficulty at first with the zipper and it took me a second before I figured out why. I got up and went over to help her.

“Here.” I removed the gloves from her hands before taking one of them in mine and showed her how to pull the zipper down. “Easy, right?” I said as I helped her get her arms out of the coat sleeves.

She gave a nervous laugh, but seemed much more comfortable in the black, long sleeved shirt she was wearing under the coat. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” She turned to walk to one of the walls near the door, where a poster had been taped up. “This is all really, _really_ strange,” she murmured and touched the paper. “What about food?”

“Huh?”

“Where do you get your food? Who hunts it? Your mother? And what’s a ‘design position’?”

I sat down on the bed again. _Here we go._ It was odd but a little fulfilling to be on the receiving end of the questions this time. Showing Aloy where I was from and how I lived before going into cryo was something I never imagined in my wildest dreams I would get to do. But here we were – even if it was all fake, it was still a pretty accurate representation of how things were before Ted fucked it all up. 

“Well,” I began, “we don’t really _have_ to hunt. I mean, some people do, but they do it for…for sport.” Hearing the explanation come out of my own mouth made me pause – the Carja had the Lodge of course, but the machines were an actual threat to humans. I shook the thought away for the time being and continued. “We get most of our food from a market…or delivered.”

Aloy’s brow furrowed. “But, then where does the market get it?”

I smiled and picked up the otter before leaning back on the pillows. _This is kind of fun._ “From a farm, just like in Meridian. We have- _had_ a lot more animals that we would use for food, too.”

She seemed amused. “Is that,” she pointed at the otter in my hands, “one of them? Why do you keep one where you sleep?”

I didn’t get what she meant at first until I looked down at Mr. Otter and burst out laughing. “No! I mean…yes, we had animals like this, but we didn’t eat them. Or at least _I_ didn’t.” I held up the stuffed animal. “This is Mr. Otter. He’s not real but I’ve had him forever.”

“Why?”

 _It’s like talking to a five-year-old._ “Um…because I used to get nightmares when I was younger and my parents got it for me to help, I guess.” It felt strange telling her this – only my family and Jenna really knew about that. _Speaking of Jenna – where_ is _she?_

Aloy’s expression softened as I think she realized she had asked a more personal question (not that I minded). “Your mother said she was preparing dinner for a celebration?”

“Yeah,” I quickly answered, happy to talk about something other than myself. “So, this actually never happened, but I know my brother, Dennis, had talked about wanting to work for a design firm in the city. He’s an artist.”

“‘Design firm’?”

 _Oops._ Of course she wouldn’t know what that was. “It’s like a…corporation for artists,” I said, trying to use terminology I remembered from the logs on her Focus she had shown me.

“Oh,” was all she said as she began to walk around the room again, picking up and studying everything in sight – accessories, books, school supplies, even my drawers. I didn’t mind, seeing as how it was _Aloy_ and also that none of it was really _mine_ – even _I_ had to keep reminding myself of this.

I sighed. “To be honest, I don’t think Dennis really wanted to apply for the job. He always talked about going into business with his friend Maria. She’s a tattoo artist. My parents, well, they’ve always been… _were_ supportive of us but I think they had their own ideas about how we could be successful.” A pang of guilt struck as I realized my choice of tense when talking about my parents. I think Aloy could tell too because she stopped her perusing and joined me on the bed.

“They seem like good people,” she said, taking my hand in hers.

“They are-well, they _were_.” My throat tightened, leaving me with the still raw wound of loss that was torn open again the last time I was in the simulation. “Sorry.”

She squeezed my hand and kissed my temple. “Don’t be.”

I did my best to push the feelings away, at least for the time being, so that I could focus on the problem at hand (and the one we actually had a chance of doing something about). “So, the last time I was in one of these simulations, I kept seeing these _ripples_ or something – the whole thing would glitch out a bit whenever I remembered or thought of you.”

Warmth spread through me as I watched Aloy smile at that. I felt a bit better. Not much, but enough to keep trying.

“So, we just need to find these ripples?” she asked.

 _No._ I shook my head. “I-I don’t think it works that way. Plus, you’re here and-,” It hit me. _Fuck. I should have known._

“There’s nothing wrong with this simulation. They put us here, completely aware – on purpose.”

“What?” she exclaimed. “How do you know?”

“When I was here last time, there were so many issues. It was like the program was fighting to keep me from remembering you. But that’s not happening here. In fact,” I said, gesturing around us, “being with you, _here_ of all places feels more real than the simulation without you ever did.”

Aloy shook her head. I wasn’t sure if she didn’t believe me or she was just as confused as I was about the whole thing. “Then how do we leave?”

I didn’t have an answer. “I-I don’t know, Aloy. Branwell and Sobeck made this so that the people Far Zenith have in cryo would be able to experience their memories and go on with their lives while they cleaned up the planet.”

“And by ‘cleaned up’, you mean-,”

“Destroy. Yeah, basically.”

She didn’t say anything for a while – just sort of looked down at the floor as we sat in silence. “Do you think,” she said, her voice edged with fear, “that Elisabet – the _real_ Elisabet – is alive here?”

I bit my lip, the tears I had been holding back threatening to escape. It made sense that she would ask about Dr. Sobeck, but in my rush to figure out a way out of here I had forgotten about the connection she had with Elisabet. I felt so sorry for her, but I had no clue what I could do or say to help. I went with honesty. “There’s a good chance, Aloy, yeah. But it wouldn’t really be her. You know that, right?”

She nodded and I could tell she was trying to put on a brave face as she cast her eyes downward. “I…understand.”

I offered her Mr. Otter. “Want to hold him?”

Aloy gave me a hesitant glance before staring at Mr. Otter, then back at me. “Um…okay.” She gently took him from my hands, her expression switching to surprise as soon as she held him. “He’s very soft. What should I do with him?”

I snorted. “You just, you know, hold him. It’s supposed to calm you down.”

She held him up, giving his black plastic eyes an awkward stare. “Hello, Mr. Otter.”

I wasn’t sure if the whole “stuffed animal” thing clicked completely for her or if she was just doing her best to understand while making me happy at the same time. Either way, it was both adorable and hilarious and almost made me forget we were stuck in a fake reality that we desperately needed to escape. “We need to get out of here, Aloy. Time passed differently here for me, so who knows how long it’s actually been since we got here.”

Aloy set the otter back on the bed with a frustrated noise. “There must be a way.”

I teetered on the edge of another breaking point. My words from our earlier argument echoed in mind. It was true: I was tired of being scared, tired of having to figure out how to survive, outsmart the enemy, escape, or _whatever_ our particular dire situation entailed. But as I looked at Aloy, I couldn’t help but be impressed at how well she was taking this all in. _Maybe she’s just more adaptable than me. Maybe she’s actually trying to be an_ adult _and get to a_ solution _instead of whining about how she wants a normal life._

“Sorry,” I said.

She frowned. “What? What are you sorry for?”

I took her hands. “I haven’t been the most patient person since I got back and…and I shouldn’t have said those things to you. We shouldn’t have fought at all. Not over this – over _us_.”

“You were _captured,_ Becks,” Aloy pointed out. “And,” she said, glancing at my arm before looking me in the eye, “you’re right to not want to risk your life again. Not after what happened.” I recognized that look. It was the same look she had for _months_ after I got hurt.

“That wasn’t your fault, Aloy.”

She chuckled. “You’ve said that before, but it doesn’t change the fact that if I’d been up there on that platform with you instead of letting you go on your own I could have…” Her voice grew quiet. “I could have…stopped her.”

I gripped her hands. “You don’t know that and I wish you’d stop thinking that.”

“But-,”

A knock on the door sounded followed by my mom’s voice. “Becks? Do you mind helping with the table?”

Giving Aloy an apologetic smile, I called back to Mom, “Yeah, be right there!” not stopping to think that I really had no obligation to do anything for this fake version of her.

“Your mother needs help with a table?” Aloy asked.

“She means put plates and stuff on it so it’s ready when we eat.”

I could tell she didn’t quite get the “why” of it, but she nodded just the same. “All right. Do you-should I help you?”

I grinned. “Why don’t you come with me so you can see what I mean?”

* * *

 

“This was awesome, Mom.” I watched in mild disgust as Dennis shoveled the remaining food on his plate into his mouth in a rather disgusting display of barbarism that I wasn’t surprised at all to see from my brother.

I didn’t care if this was fake or not – it was gross. “Did you actually taste it or just swallow it?”

Dennis looked thoughtful before opening his mouth, revealing the last of his dinner. “Still tasting!” he said, his words muffled.

I scoffed. “That’s freaking gross, Dennis. And really? In front of Aloy?”

“Rebecca, remember what we talked about?” Mom pleaded.

Dennis smirked. “Yeah, Mom says you gotta be nice to me.” He looked at Aloy, who to my dismay, actually seemed entertained by him. “She’s funny when she’s mad, isn’t she?”

I shot him a dirty look. “How _old_ are you?” Then to Aloy. “Don’t encourage him.”

Aloy looked like she wasn’t sure if she should laugh or be afraid, and seemed happy enough to settle for trying to make her fork work out for her – something I had not foreseen to be an issue.

“You two met at school?” Dad asked, gesturing to Aloy and me.

Aloy’s eyes widened at the question, but I quickly interjected. “Yeah, Aloy’s in my AI class. We have a test tomorrow.”

Dad nodded but then directed his attention to Aloy again. “You look so familiar. Are you sure we haven’t met before?”

_Ah, shit._

“ _Dad_ , don’t grill her,” I said, hoping that he wouldn’t figure it out. Then again, if he did, what would happen? _It’s all fake anyway…right?_

“ _Someone’s_ on edge tonight,” Dennis commented. I rolled my eyes and ignored him.

“I was just wondering, sweetheart,” Dad said. He smiled at Aloy. “It’s good to see Becks making more friends at school, though.”

 _Ugh._ I was getting frustrated and defensive at a fake family dinner in a fake reality. Even as Aloy gave me a reassuring smile, I had to wonder if I was getting too attached to this…whatever it was. _We’re supposed to be working on finding a way out of here, not hanging out._

I sat back and observed in silence as Mom asked Dennis question after question on his new job and Dad volunteered information about FAS to her, even offering her an opportunity to go in and talk to some people about an internship if she wanted. It was surreal and a little heartbreaking.

I guess I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t something I really, truly wanted. Being able to bring my girlfriend home to my family – having a stupid, awkward family dinner and fighting with my brother, listening to my mom nag me, and watching my dad strike up business talk with my girlfriend – was something that, when I found out the world, my world, was ending, I never imagined I’d get to do.

 _But,_ I admitted to myself now that I was seeing a possible version of it for the very first time, _it would have been_ really _nice to._

* * *

 

“I like your family,” was Aloy’s opening remark when we got back to my room later that evening.

I closed the door and locked it. “Thanks. I’m sorry about my dad…and Dennis.”

She removed her boots before sitting on my bed. “I didn’t mind. It was a bit odd but also interesting hearing about FAS from someone other than Ted Faro or the Zero Dawn people. And,” she added, “your brother was nice. I can tell he cares-,” She paused. “Cared about you a great deal.” Her voice had grown solemn as she looked up at me with soft eyes filled with guilt. “I’m sorry.”

I sat next to her, the bed shifting slightly under our combined weight. “I-I know. It, um, would have been nice…introducing you to them. As my…well, you know.”

Aloy reached out, placing her hand on my cheek before leaning in to kiss me. It was a soft, gentle kiss that was meant to comfort more than words really could right then. It’d felt like so long since we did that for some reason and when we pulled away finally, I actually sensed a spark of hope in me that wasn’t there before, and something more.

“You could still have that,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“This,” she said, indicating the simulation, “it’s not real, but you want to believe it and that…” She sighed. “That seems to comfort you. Maybe Branwell and Sobeck put us in here together so that you wouldn’t try to fight it.”

 _Fuck that._ “No way. None of this is fucking real, Aloy, and I _know_ that. I’m not going to live out some fake life here while people die in the real world just because I’m homesick.”

She winced. “Becks, what you said before-,”

But I cut her off before she could finish, “I know what I said. I said it because I was angry and-and scared. But there are a lot of people out there that don’t deserve the fate these bastards have planned for them.”

Aloy gave a nod of approval. “All right, then. So, we find a way out of here?”

“We can try. I still don’t know how,” I said, getting more frustrated by the minute. “Fuck!” My voice sounded more like a croak as my efforts to stay hopeful about the situation failed.

“We will, Becks. I know it,” Aloy insisted as she moved her hands to my hips.

Once again, I found myself fighting back tears. “I hate this. I hate _them._ This is why I wanted us to be left alone!” I told her. “Why I wanted to leave.”

She pulled me close to her and began stroking my hair. “I don’t blame you.” She moved us back a bit so that we were propped up against my pillows. “It’s been a long day and we’re out of ideas. I think we should rest a bit and try to come up with a plan afterwards.”

“We can’t. Who knows how much time will have passed?” I protested.

But she just shook her head. “If time has passed, Becks, then it has, and there was nothing we could have done to stop it. But you need to rest.” She met my gaze, the concern for me in her voice obvious now. “You can’t keep this up. Not here and not back in the…real world.”

I bit my lip, looking away as she held me. She was right, of course. Even with the short respite we had when I found her in Meridian, I still felt like I was constantly running and surviving. My promise to myself to just live had not only been broken, but I had been doing the exact opposite and trying to escape into something that didn’t exist.

I returned my focus to Aloy again. _She’s real._ Our lives weren’t perfect and they were never going to be. But it was all we had and it was time I stopped mourning a life that no longer existed and could never be.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered before nuzzling her. “You’re right – we should sleep on it, at least for a few hours. Maybe something will come to me, or if we’re lucky, that they haven’t worked out all the bugs in this thing yet and it’ll break.”

She seemed content with that answer. “All right.”

I smiled at her before leaning in and capturing her lips again. We moved slowly against each other for several seconds before I felt her tongue probing the entrance to my mouth. I allowed her entry, shuddering and letting out an involuntary quiet moan as she tightened her grip on my hips and pressed against me.

 _I’m making out with my girlfriend in my bedroom._ I would have laughed if I wasn’t so turned on right then.

Almost as though she had read my mind, Aloy pulled back again. “This…isn’t really what ‘rest’ looks like,” she said, her voice having gone slightly ragged from panting.

“I know.” I used my Focus to turn off the lights before removing it from my ear and placed it on the nightstand. She was right of course, and sure, I wanted to get some rest, but I wanted _her_ more. One night with her wasn’t enough to make up for the shitty experience I had gone through already with Far Zenith and getting to Meridian. “Please?”

There was hesitation – even in the dark I could see it. But the light from the streetlamps still entered the room through my windows, and I could see that for as much hesitation as there was in her eyes, there was also desire. We both knew what was going to happen and what the stakes were. _After all, we’ve done this before._ Come morning, we would escape the sim and take down Far Zenith…or die trying.

She felt for my shirt with her hands as her lips went for my neck, the temperature contrast and pressure leaving me light-headed as I was pushed down onto the pile of pillows. A few of them were nudged off and fell to the floor, along with the stuffed otter. A low growl rumbled as she climbed on top of me and it took me a moment to realize that the sound had come from _her._

I could only whisper her name while she worked on my clothes. I tried to help – tried to grab at her pants to undo the button but she just pushed my hand away and continued removing my clothes, adding even more pressure to my neck with her lips and pushing against it with her tongue so hard that I had to struggle to keep quiet as she sent what felt like a thousand electrical shocks to every nerve ending in my body.

She became frustrated, pushing down on me and all but giving up on my clothes. Her need was obvious, and I grinned when I heard the whine escape her. “Aloy,” I said, firmer this time so that she’d slow down enough for me to actually _help_. “Let me.”

She relented, and I took the opportunity to free myself of my shirt and bra. Unfortunately, that was about all I had time for before Aloy ambushed me again – holding me upright in her arms and taking me into her mouth, making me whimper so loud I was pretty sure it would be a miracle if no one heard us. Which, oddly enough, the fact that we were even _doing_ this here made it even more enjoyable. My cheeks went hot immediately at my own thoughts – Aloy being completely oblivious to it all while she focused on attacking every inch of my upper body with her mouth.

The fog in my mind cleared when I realized she was tugging at my pants. I actually giggled. “You’re going to…have to give me a second to cooperate with you here,” I told her. “And uh…careful – I don’t want my parents to come knocking ‘cause they heard us.”

She actually listened this time and released me, allowing me to (very quickly) remove the rest of my clothes as well as hers. We tossed them on the floor before we sank back on my bed together, her leg between mine and her mouth meeting mine in a deep, desperate kiss as she continued to hold me.

The thought of how predictable we were nearly made me laugh again – the fact that once again, we were doing this in the face of overwhelming odds and certain death. _So epic._ But that was _us_ and I loved it. I loved _her._

I gasped as she began moving against me, her every action purposeful and rough. She tried to muffle the sounds she was making by maintaining our kiss as I struggled to keep up with her. Even with both my arms being my own, and neither of them containing implants, all I managed to do was wrap them around her neck and hold on as I moved closer and closer to the edge of where I wanted her to take me.

I gave another shudder when I felt her hand dragging down my side, over my ribs and where my scar _should_ have been. I broke our kiss. “Aloy, _please_.”

A light kiss on my forehead told me she understood what I wanted, what I needed. Before I could really _think_ about what she was doing – how her hands and fingers were moving – she was inside me.

I kissed her again with everything I had in a vain attempt to keep myself quiet while she repeated to bring me almost to my breaking point before easing off, then again…and again. Frustrated but unable to do much about it except thrash in her hold, I let out a strangled whine that I wasn’t even aware I could make. She must have gotten the message – when she did it again, rather than ease off, she put her strength into a final few powerful thrusts that sent me over the brink and left me helpless in her arms while she soothed me with quiet words and soft kisses.

I was exhausted but I didn’t want to let her go – didn’t want it to be over. Seeing how tired I was, she made that choice for me and set me next to her, where she covered me with the comforter and put her arm around my waist in a protective hold. There were no ripples, no artifacts, no murmurings of voices from another life – she was real, the only thing that _was_ real there. As the darkness enveloped us, my mind calmed and the cogs finally stopped turning with the promise that somehow, we would be able to beat this.


	13. Reflection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day. My gift to you is this massive chapter. I suspect we have one or two more chapters in Season 2 left. Thank you for reading. :) I hope you like it. <3

_“Okay, so you’re just going to gently lift us up here and-wait, wait, I said_ gently, _Becks.” Dad sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Take us back down.”_

_I cringed and eased off the hovercar’s thrusters, taking us down to an idle hover just over the pavement. “Sorry.”_

_Dad paid no attention to my apology – just continued on with the lesson. “Okay, let’s do this again. Brake off, up on the thruster, then take us out.”_

_“All right.” I let out the breath I’d been holding after I messed up…_ again. _Brake…thruster…” I muttered the steps out loud so I wouldn’t forget them. The car swayed as the brakes were disabled and then gave a quiet hum once I lifted us up. It took me a few seconds to register that we were at a good altitude to start driving._

_“Perfect,” Dad said, a proud smile forming on his face. “That was good, Becks. Now, take us toward those trees and make a left at the signal.” He pointed straight ahead, where two other cars were waiting to take a right._

_With newfound confidence, I steered us down the lane and out of the park where we had spent a good chunk of the afternoon practicing._

_“You’re getting much better. Soon you won’t even need me here,” he joked once we reached the signal. “Blinker on.”_

_I hit the turn signal – something I wasn’t entirely great at remembering yet. “Does this mean I can drive Jenna and me to the movies on Friday?”_

_Dad gave a nervous chuckle. “Your test isn’t for a least another month, sweetheart. You’re doing well, but I’d feel more comfortable if you had some more practice behind the wheel.”_

_“Ugh…fine.” I grinned to show I wasn’t_ really _upset, but I still practically counted down the days until I didn’t have to rely on my parents or Dennis anymore for a ride. I turned right and headed back toward our neighborhood._

_“So, what do you think? Do we have time for ice cream?” Dad said._

Nice. _“Pretty sure Mom’s already working on dinner.”_

_He laughed – the loud bark he does that startles the shit out of everyone all the time. “Who in the world raised you, kid? Come on, we’ll kidnap Jenna on the way. My treat...but you have to drive.”_

More driving? _I was definitely onboard with_ that _idea. “All right,” I said as I punched in the location of Jenna’s house on the console._

_Dad pretended to grip his seatbelt. “Too bad these things don’t come with two belts per seat.”_

_I scoffed. “Not funny! I drive_ just _fine!”_

_He grinned. “All right, all right. Seriously, though – you’re doing fine, Becks-,”_

* * *

 

“Becks?” A familiar voice called out to me, stirring me from my sleep. _Aloy must be up._ I opened my eyes and shivered, grasping at the comforter that had partially slipped away from me during the night.

I was confused when I rolled over and saw that Aloy was still sleeping. _Weird. Maybe I just heard my name in my dream or something._ I _think_ I had been dreaming, but I couldn’t remember what it was about-

“Hello, Becks.” _That voice._ A cold dread spread through me and I realized that it wasn’t Aloy speaking to me at all. I slowly turned over and nearly shouted when I saw _her_ standing in front of the bed, the pale light from outside casting unsettling shadows on her as it crept in through the window blinds. The light snow that had begun to fall had frozen in place. Without a weapon, my natural reaction was to immediately pull the comforter over myself.

“The fuck are _you_ doing here? Get us out of this, _now._ ” I looked over at Aloy again – expected her to be up and awake and just as ready to fight as I was. But she didn’t move. In fact, I couldn’t even see her chest moving. Fear spiked in me as I extended a trembling hand toward her.

“She won’t wake up,” Sobeck’s clone said, as though Aloy not waking up was the simplest concept ever. “I’ve frozen this simulation so that we could talk in private. Don’t worry,” she clarified when she saw I was on the edge of freaking out, “your girlfriend’s fine. And don’t bother trying to attack me – I’m not actually here, as I’m sure you’ve figured out.”

I gave another worried glance at Aloy’s still form before glaring at the clone and searching for my shirt, which was on the floor in a pile along with my pants, exactly where I’d tossed them earlier.

“What do you want?” I demanded as I jumped out of bed and dressed, not even caring that I was exposed to her.

Sobeck gave me a knowing smile. _God, that smile…it’s_ her. It still freaked me out. But it wasn’t her. Not even close. “I think you know exactly why I’m here, Becks. It’s been very…interesting seeing the brain activity the two of you are outputting. I can’t see much from my vantage point, but maybe when this is all over we can check out the reports on what you’ve been up to.”

I was pissed beyond reason. “ _Or_ you could just get us out of this stupid fake life you’ve thrown us into and stop what you’re doing.”

Sobeck closed her eyes and gave a soft laugh. “You’re a smart girl, Becks. That virus you planted has messed with a lot of subsystems in our operation. Of course, we’ll find a way to disable it, but it would be a lot easier for you _and_ Aloy if you would just cooperate.”

I shook my head. “‘Cooperate’? Like when I ‘cooperated’ with you before and you trapped me here for a fucking _month_?”

She raised her eyebrows and seemed genuinely surprised. “Honestly, I would have thought you of all people would have been grateful for the opportunity, Becks. Your output reports came back and what you experienced was fascinating. Seeing your family alive again – your mom, dad, Dennis. Seeing Jenna…that must have been very nice.”

I took a threatening step forward. I wished she was physically there and that I had my implants in this reality so that I could pummel her stupid clone face in with them. “S-shut up. You don’t get to talk about them.”

Sobeck’s expression hardened. “That’s a little rude. What we’ve built here is something that will make a difference in the lives of the people that had to suffer and leave their homes because of Ted Faro and his arrogance,” she said, sneering when she said Ted’s name. “I don’t know what that… _accident_ ,” she nodded at Aloy, “has done to you to make you betray your own people, your own _civilization,_ but I will not allow you to undo all of our work with such a primitive piece of garbage software.”

I smirked. “The same ‘piece of garbage software’ that’s messing up your systems? The only accident I see here is _you._ You’re just a tool for Far Zenith. You’ll never be the _real_ Elisabet Sobeck. Soon they’ll realize you were just another one of their mistakes and get rid of you. That’s what creeps like Branwell do.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “We found the last of the mess from your little battle at GAIA Prime. There were…unfortunately some remains of your friend that you left behind. Of course, GAIA was able to tell us everything that happened. It really is amazing how far this new civilization has come with their detonation devices. That the blast radius was so wide-,”

I clenched my fists, the nails digging into skin so hard I felt pain. _“Shut up!”_ I didn’t care if anyone else could hear me. Nausea flooded my senses. I wanted to throw up. Tears pricked at my eyes as I took a deep breath before speaking again, my voice shaking. “You can s-say whatever you want. I’m not going to disable the virus.”

Sobeck went quiet, a thoughtful expression crossing her features. “What if I offered you a deal?”

 _Hah. Right._ “There’s no deal you could possibly offer that would make me change my mind.”

She met my gaze. “Your family. And Jenna.”

I must have heard her wrong. “What?”

“I can bring them back. As they were.”

My heart skipped a beat. I studied her face – tried to see if there was anything in her expression that gave away her lies. But there wasn’t. She either was convinced what she was proposing was possible (which was crazy) or she was really good at lying. “You’re full of shit.”

She shrugged and gestured around us. “This simulation alone should be proof enough that I can recreate memories in a way that’s believable, Becks. What makes you think I can’t just take those memories and implant them in a human being?”

“They’re dead,” I choked. “I buried them. You can’t bring back the dead, no matter how smart you think you are.”

Sobeck smiled again – each time it became more and more unnerving. “And how exactly do you think I came to be? Or Aloy, for that matter?”

 _Could she really...?_ It didn’t seem possible – it _couldn’t_ be possible.

“It would take time of course – I would need to go through our databases and recreate quite a bit. We could accelerate the growing period, but…if you were patient, I think it could be done.”

Visions of my family flashed through my mind. _What if she’s telling the truth?_ My parents…they could meet Aloy – we could live in Meridian or even in the Nora lands. Dennis would probably love hanging with Erend and learning to hunt. And Jenna…she’d have a _real_ chance, not the terrible fate that she was doomed to from the moment she woke up from cryo. And then…

 _No._ There’d be no Meridian for us to live in. The Nora lands would be burned. Obliterated. Just as the rest of the world would be. This world – this civilization – would be over.

I couldn’t do that. Not even if there was a remote possibility I might see my family alive again.

“What do you say, Becks?”

I looked back at Sobeck, who had been waiting patiently for my answer. “I say: go fuck yourself.”

She glared at me. “Be that way. You’re so young, Becks. So much promise. It’s a damn shame that you’ve wasted so much of your potential here running around with a spear and living like a primitive. The fact is that whether or not you want to believe it – I’m your _only_ chance at surviving in this world.” With a final glance that almost seemed like _regret_ , she finished with, “Good luck getting out of here,” before disappearing in an odd flicker, like a program having glitched.

Time started again. I watched as Aloy’s chest resumed its rhythmic rising and falling. The snow that had stopped in midair resumed its journey to the ground outside.

Awake and fully dressed, I paced about my room as I tried to figure out a way to get out of this, to _beat_ that stupid clone. _Could she really have brought them back?_ I knew that I shouldn’t dwell on what was probably a lie if I wanted to get out of there but it couldn’t be helped. The tears welled up in my eyes again and I sat on the edge of the bed near Aloy’s sleeping form, once again mourning the loss of people I loved. I buried my face in my hands, defeated. It was a horrible fate to be trapped in this fake reality where the people I wanted to see more than _anything_ were right there…only they weren’t. We had lost – _I_ had lost – and I didn’t have the heart to tell Aloy.

 **_“We have thousands in a cryogenic facility waiting to be brought out of sleep…as soon as the world is ready for them of course.”_ ** _Where? Where were these people being kept? Did they know what’s happened?_

I remembered Branwell’s words – a mantra that had continued to echo in my mind ever since I escaped GAIA Prime. **_“The world, Rebecca, is_ not _fine.”_**

And it wasn’t. But it wasn’t for _them_ to decide what the world’s fate should be. No matter how much of a genius Sobeck was-

 _Wait._ I remembered a question Aloy had asked earlier. I wanted to confirm it myself and earlier I wouldn’t have known how. But now I had a theory, and just like I’d been taught, I wanted to test it.

I grabbed my Focus and put it on. Assuming it hadn’t been replaced somehow in the simulation, the Focus belonged to my dad, and contained all of the information he’d stored on it in addition to the data HEPHAESTUS had uploaded to it from my old Focus I’d destroyed in Maker’s End.

“Come on…come on,” I urged quietly as I flipped through Dad’s contact book. Most were names I didn’t recognize – old business friends or coworkers that Dad had kept contact with after he left FAS.

_P…R…come on…S. There!_

A ripple. It was just barely in the corner of my eye and disappeared a microsecond later, but it was _there._

I looked over at Aloy again. She was sleeping peacefully, but I knew I’d need to wake her. I smiled and wiped the remaining tears away. It was a long shot, but if this worked…maybe – just maybe –  we could escape. _And win._

* * *

 

“Wait. I need a moment – explain this to me again?”

“There’s no time!” I said as I helped her put on her clothes after she had struggled with them for a few minutes earlier. It would have been a lot funnier if the fate of the world wasn’t pretty much depending on whether or not my theory panned out. “Come on, we gotta get to the garage.” I slipped on my shoes.

“Garage?”

I grabbed her hand and yanked her arm before flinging my door open. “It’s where the car is. Come _on_.”

We padded down the hall toward the side entrance of the house, which led out from the kitchen to the garage where my family kept their cars. It had been forever since I’d driven but hopefully it was like riding a bike, right?

“Just through here,” I whispered, trying not to alert my family. Sure, they weren’t real but I didn’t need to be held up because they wanted to know where I was sneaking off to at 3:30 in the morning. I reached for the doorknob.

“Late-night joy ride?” My brother’s deep voice pierced the silence in the house.

I jumped. “Holy shit, Dennis. You can’t just creep up on people like that!” I hissed. Real or not, my brother always had a habit of doing that to mess with me and it still wasn’t funny.

He turned on the low lights. “What are you guys doing?”

I ignored him and opened the door. Dennis shot his hand out and closed it.

I spun to face him. “Dennis, I don’t have time for this. Is my car out there?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Your car? Funny, Becks. Which car would that be? Your imaginary one or the one that is sitting in a junkyard somewhere in the complete wreck you left it in?”

 _Wreck? Shit, did I forget to signal again?_ “What happened? Ugh, never mind. Give me your keys.”

Dennis looked at me like I was crazy. “Hell, no! No one touches my baby, especially not you.”

“Please, Dennis. It’s an emergency!”

Aloy, who had been standing beside me observing the entire thing, finally spoke up. “It really is, Dennis. Can’t you help us just this once?”

He looked at her, then at me, clearly confused at the situation. “Want to explain what the emergency is, then? And why you’re having this ‘emergency’ at three in the freaking morning?”

“I…” What was I supposed to say? That this was all a simulation by some evil organization dedicated to wiping out life on Earth? That we were the only ones who could stop them? That the world had actually ended a _thousand_ years earlier and that he…hadn’t survived?

Fortunately, Aloy was a step ahead of me. “Becks, I think we should show him,” she said quietly.

 _That_ made no sense. “No, Aloy – we have to go.”

But she held my gaze. “I think if he understands then he’ll help us.” She pointed to her own Focus.

_She has it all…everything from what happened. If I show him that, and then…_

I remembered what else was on her Focus. What I could show him that would either make him think I had finally gone insane or help us…and break his heart.

“All right…um, follow me, Dennis,” I said, taking his arm and leading him back to my bedroom. He was quiet at first, probably as to not wake our parents, but as soon as we closed the door he pulled his arm away. “What the hell is this, Becks? What’s going on?”

If I didn’t have trouble speaking before, I certainly did then. “Um…Dennis, I’m going to show you something. It’s not going to make any sense, but all I’m asking is that you trust me…and not tell Mom and Dad.”

My brother is- _was_ a lot of things – confident, condescending, an array of other “qualities” that his girlfriends found endearing but I found obnoxious – but if there was one thing he did right, it was that he always knew when something was _really_ bothering me. I had a strong feeling that even if what I was about to show him sounded completely crazy, he would listen…and possibly even believe me. “All right. Show me.”

“Okay.” I turned to Aloy, who handed me her Focus which I placed near the projector on my desk, connecting it to broadcast in a hologram before us. A purple light flickered in the darkness – we were seeing everything Aloy had collected on her Focus.

I brought up the logs that I wanted to show Dennis. “You know who Ted Faro is?”

He blinked. “Uh…yeah, um, he’s that guy that helped out with the environment cleanup and stuff. He died a couple years ago – car crash I think.”

I shook my head. “Dennis, he never died. Ted went on to make robots that…that could fight.” I played a few vids from the FAS promotional videos, shivering with dread when the Horus came on screen as the announcer talked up all of its benefits. In my mind, I could only hear the screams of the people on camera as they filmed the destruction of the major cities across Earth.

“There was a glitch. It was too late by the time it was found,” I continued, trying to keep my voice steady. But the truth was that even talking about how my civilization came to an end was still difficult. Maybe it always would be.

I played the vids of the logs where Ted met with Elisabet Sobeck to ask for her help to stop the plague. The battle logs Aloy had found of Enduring Victory. Then the recordings of Zero Dawn, Herres’s admission, the reveal and building of GAIA, and Ted Faro’s final act of destroying APOLLO and killing the Alphas.  Then came Aloy’s story, how the Eclipse and Helis found her, Sylens, and how she learned who she was and stopped HADES.

Dennis watched the vids, puzzled, but by the tightness in his face I could tell he was deeply disturbed. “H-how did you get this? I’ve never heard of any of this stuff. It would have been on the news. It would-,”

I looked up at him, the tears returning. Aloy took my hand and squeezed it. My voice cracked. “Dennis…”

But he shook his head. “ _No_ , Becks. If-if the world had really ended, then we wouldn’t be here!”

“I didn’t fabricate all this and put it on the Focus, Dennis. I wouldn’t make shit like this up,” I insisted.

He began to pace. “I wasn’t saying that you did. I just…I don’t understand how _that_ ,” he pointed at the hologram, “could be possible if we’re _here_ – perfectly fine!”

I sniffed as the vid flickered again before shutting off. “Because…we’re not really here, Dennis.” I wanted to hug him, but if I did then I would have wanted to tell him that everything would be okay. But that would have been a lie.

He stopped. “What does that even mean?”

“There’s more,” I said before connecting my own Focus – Dad’s Focus – to the projector. “When the-the robots were destroying everything, Dad built something in the basement to…to save us.”

Dennis smirked. _He’s doubting, but trying to convince himself it’s not true._ “You’re talking about the half-finished table he’s been working on for the past year? Don’t know if that’ll save us, Becks.”

“No,” I said as a tear rolled down my cheek. “Look.”

Another purple flicker of light. The holo recording of Dad.

 ** _“…love you so much. I’ll see you soon.”_** He was talking to Mom. I remembered now. It was right after we’d all gone into our cryo pods.

Dennis’s eyes widened when the date of the recording popped up. “What is this? What’s Dad standing next to?”

“Cryo pods. _Our_ cryo pods, Dennis.” I swallowed. “Dad had them built so that we might have a chance when everything went dark.”

“ _Cryo?_ Like being frozen and shit? Is that even possible? What the hell, Becks…?” he groaned as my dad said his warning – the warning that I had heeded and used to help reboot GAIA at the Bitter Climb.

**_“…was contacted by Ted Faro. He confirmed what we were all afraid of – that there had been a glitch with the Chariot line of peacekeepers. Our mutual colleague, Elisabet Sobeck-,”_ **

“Dad…?” Another tear escaped when I heard Dennis’s voice raise in pitch, the slightest tremble giving away that this was getting real for him.

**_“…imperative that we lock out Omega access. Rebecca…Becks. If you’re w-w-w-watching this…then you know what I’ve done, and I’m sorry. I’m…sorry for putting this on you…was the only way to save you and your brother…”_ **

I looked over at Aloy, who had remained silent but looked on sadly as she watched my brother take in the horrors of what had happened to us…to everyone. The recording ended and I played a few more videos, mostly the ones of GAIA’s creations I had filmed myself while traveling with Aloy. Dennis watched in awe at this – even smiling a bit when he saw Heph and heard all the weird shit it would say. I still couldn’t tell if he believed any of this completely, but I could see that doubt about his own life had been set in his mind.

“Where are you? Where am I?” he finally asked. “What happened to our friends – everyone from work and school?”

I hesitated. This was going to be the hardest part. “Dennis…Mom, Dad…and you…you didn’t make it.”

He was quiet.

“Dennis? I’m sorr-,” I tried.

“How?” he demanded, his voice so calm it was a little scary.

I bit my lip. “Jenna…and Ted. They survived and-and Jenna l-lost it I think. He had her kill you before you all had a chance to wake up.” More tears. Aloy squeezed my hand harder.

His eyebrows arched and even in the low purple light, I could see his eyes were glossy.

_He believes me._

“B-but you? You made it out all right?” he asked, looking for reassurance that hope had not been completely lost.

I nodded. “Aloy saved me. She helped me stop them from taking control of GAIA.”

“Good, good,” he said, almost a little _too_ calm. He pointed at the projector. “I didn’t see you there.”

Another deep breath. It was getting more and more difficult to talk about this. I felt like a knife had cut into me, reopening the wounds I thought had closed over a year ago. I looked up one particular vid I had recorded a few months back. The projector came on again and showed Aloy and I outside of her cabin where we’d been living while I recovered from my injuries. Snow covered the ground around the cabin - the timestamp was clearly in the 31st century. I saw Dennis’s eyebrows raise again at that.

“…okay, so I’m going to flip it so it’s recording us,” I heard myself say.

“Why?” was Aloy’s somewhat-annoyed response as she was trying to skin the rabbit she’d caught earlier that morning.

“So that I can get both of us in the shot and we can have something to remember today by!”

Aloy gave a long-suffering sigh. “ _Or_ you could come help me. Why do we have to remember today?”

I made a gagging sound. “I’m not good at that. Plus, it’s gross and gets everywhere when I do it.”

Aloy laughed. “We could practice some more then.”

“No, come on, Aloy. How about you do this for me and then I’ll help you.” I watched as Aloy shot the camera a very suspicious look. “Promise. Please?”

“Fine. Come on.”

The camera shook as I walked over to her before I activated my Focus’s ability to take video while I faced the lens. After some shifting around, I could see both myself (who was a little too excited considering I was out in the cold and there was a half-skinned rabbit in the background) and Aloy, who was giving me her typical perplexed stare whenever I did something strange.

“There. Say ‘hi’,” I ordered.

“Why?”

“Oh my God, just do it, Aloy.”

“Hi?”

“Perfect!” I looked straight at the camera and grinned. “Okay, sooo…it’s winter again and it’s really fucking cold, of course. Aloy is doing something gross to our dinner-,”

“I’m skinning it, Becks. If you want dinner we sort of have to do that,” Aloy pointed out.

“And,” I said, ignoring her, “she _still_ hasn’t killed the stupid turkey that keeps hanging out around the house.”

“It’s not doing anything – they’re not that good this time of year, anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s what you keep saying. Okay, well, we have to go because my girlfriend is whining about how I _never_ help her-,”

Aloy rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I said…”

I caught her off guard by kissing her briefly before grinning back at the camera. “I love her, even if she’s kind of a handful sometimes.”

Aloy’s cheeks grew pink. “R-right, because you’re just always so cooperative.”

I gave her a playful push, laughing before the vid froze on the last frame.

Dennis pointed at the exact thing I predicted he would notice. “What’s going on with your arm?”

I looked at Aloy, who gave me an encouraging nod, before answering my brother. “When we stopped Ted a year ago, Jenna tried to stop me. She-she was different, Dennis,” I said, my right hand tentatively touching my left arm. “She wasn’t the same person anymore.” My breaths were shallow. “She wanted it to end. There…was an explosion that-that she caused and I was caught in the blast. GAIA, Elisabet’s AI, fixed me.” I pointed to the projector. “My arm, my leg, parts of my back – it all had to be reconstructed.”

 _That_ got him angry. “But…but you’re _fine!_ I’m looking at you right now and I don’t see any of that.” His voice was as shaky as mine now. “You’re not…”

I stepped forward, put my hand on his tattooed arm. “This isn’t real. Whatever this is has only been put here to make us believe none of that happened.”

He pulled away from me. “ _How_ can it not be real, Becks?! How is it even remotely possible that I’m _dead_ in…in whatever _that_ was, but I’m alive here?”

 _We’re running out of time._ “Dennis…I know this is a lot to take in. But you have to believe us. Believe me. Right now, there’s a group of people who want the new world to end. Everyone will die. I _can’t_ let that happen, Dennis.” I took his arm again. “Please. Seeing you again, seeing Mom and Dad – it’s the most amazing thing that’s happened in a while. But I have to get back.”

He just stared at me – his face contorted in hurt and shock.

I hated seeing him like this. Hated what had happened – that someone as good as my brother could be taken away in an instant was too cruel for me to fathom right now. “Even if you don’t believe me, Dennis, I need you to help us. You’re the only one who can.”

The projector shut off. The room went dark again.  

Another ripple. _There._ It happened near the window – still faint, but I _knew_ it was stronger than the one before. _Something’s breaking the simulation._

Dennis looked up at the ceiling before he rolled his shoulders back with a heavy sigh.

“Tell me what you need.” 

* * *

 

“I think this is the place. Or at least that’s what the nav says.”

I looked out the window of my brother’s car. A two-story building loomed before us – one of the many apartment/private office buildings that dotted this area of the city. The architecture was fairly modern – several floor-to-ceiling windows and held together by metal that reflected the glow from the bright-white streetlamps that lined the main road. Looking closer, I saw the top floor had one room completely lit, though it was impossible to see what or who was inside. A slightly worn silver plaque adorned the low pillars at the end of the driveway. _“E. Sobeck”._

“Yeah,” I said to him, feeling a little light-headed. “This is the place.”

“You sure you know what you’re doing?” Dennis asked as Aloy, who was sitting in the backseat, continued to observe what was probably the strangest mode of transportation she’d been in yet.

I gave a short laugh. “Not really. But it’s the only idea I have.”

We were all quiet for several seconds, though it felt more like several minutes.

“Do you want me to wait here?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No. Either this works or…well, let’s hope it works.” I opened the door and got out to open Aloy’s door for her, helping her step out before I slammed the door shut again.

“Becks,” Dennis called.

I looked at Aloy. “Wait for me by the door. I’ll be right there.” She nodded and began walking up the driveway as I ducked back into the car with my brother.

Dennis reached into his pocket and handed me something small. I took it from him. _A Focus?_ “What’s this?”

He shrugged. “Just figured something, assuming you haven’t gone completely bonkers – if you could bring your Focus here, maybe you can take this with you. It’s my old one, but I put a bunch of our vids on it. Old shit, too. There’s stuff of you and Jenna on it also. You know,” he said, shifting in the driver’s seat uncomfortably, “in case you miss us or something.”

 _Oh._ I blinked back tears again. “I do, Dennis. More than anything.”

He tried to act casual, but I could tell this was really difficult for him. “And I, um…I’m sorry I wasn’t there when Jenna um…you know.”

I made an attempt to smile, but ended up choking back a sob. “It’s okay, Dennis. And,” I held up the Focus, “thank you.”

He nodded, and for a moment I thought he was going to start crying, too. But of course, being Dennis, he didn’t. Instead he waved me away. “All right, wimp. Go do your thing.”

I leaned in and threw my arms around him, all my barriers breaking down as I wept against his coat. He held me, patting my back and stifling a noise of his own. “Hey, none of this bullshit,” he joked. “You’ve got this.”

“No,” I sobbed, feeling like an overwhelmed child, “I don’t. I don’t want any of this. I-I just want to come home.” Why did _I_ have to do this? Why couldn’t it have been someone else? Why were people so terrible that they would do things like this – things that tore families apart and left people like me behind, alone and clueless about what to do or how to pick up the pieces of their messes?

He pulled away, his hands on my shoulders, and looked me in the eye. “Becks, listen to me. I still don’t really understand what’s happened. All that robot shit, those crazy scientists…I don’t know where to even begin with all that. But I know _you_ and last time I checked, my sister was an annoying, nerdy little badass who doesn’t quit until she wins. And I don’t really know her, but I think your girlfriend out there would agree with me.”

I wiped my eyes, nodding as a faint smile broke through.

“Now get out of here. Here’s hoping I don’t have to explain to Mom and Dad why I’m driving your ass around at this time of night,” he said.

I wavered before hugging him one last time. “I love you.”

He held me for longer than any hug from Dennis would normally ever last. “Love you, too. Now go,” he muttered before releasing me.

I stepped out of the car again and shut the door, taking one last look at Dennis as he gave me a thumbs-up before flying off down the road, leaving me to catch up with Aloy at the door. 

* * *

 

She could tell I’d been crying and wrapped me into a tight hug. “I’m sorry,” she whispered before giving me a soft kiss on my forehead.

I sniffed. “I’m…I’m okay.” _This has to work. Otherwise…_ “Are _you_ ready? If she’s there, she’ll recognize you, well, she’ll recognize herself.”

Aloy took my hand. “I understand. And yes, I’m ready.” We stood in front of the door, hand in hand, as I reached out with my free hand to knock. Before I could, though, the lock panel clicked and the door opened.

We exchanged stunned glances. _Shit, I’m an idiot. Of_ course _she probably has cameras or something set up._ “Okay…shall we?” I suggested.

“Let’s go,” she agreed, not letting go of my hand. We entered, though I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The apartment – dark save the safety lights near the walls –  was clean, almost sterile, as though it wasn’t really being used to live in. Stepping slowly into the living room, our attention was drawn to the flight of dimly-lit stairs that led up to the second level.

I turned to Aloy. “Up?” I mouthed while pointing at the ceiling.

She nodded. We took each step with hesitation and care, not _really_ knowing who or what awaited us at the top. Once we hit the halfway point, I could see light coming from one of the rooms – its door open just a few inches.

We reached the top. One of the rooms was clearly a bedroom – tiny and mostly empty with the exception of a dresser and a small side table. The bed was made, though it didn’t look like it had been slept in recently, if ever. I looked toward the room with the light coming from it, a bluish-white glow that I suspected came from a backlit display.

I gave Aloy a final glance and waited for her to give her go ahead, which she did, before reaching out and pushing the door open.

Judging by the several computers hooked up to a variety of projectors and screens as well as the stacks of papers scattered across multiple long tables, this was her office. The room was probably meant to be the master bedroom but had been repurposed.

Behind the main desk at the end of the room was a massive window that started at the floor and went all the way to the textured ceiling. _She_ stood there, arms crossed, looking out across the city. She had the same shoulders, same arms, though it was easy to tell even in her long tunic that they were nowhere near as defined as Aloy’s. Her red hair, that _same_ red hair, was cut shorter into a long bob.

She spoke. It was Aloy’s voice…even the clone’s voice…but still _different. Her_ voice was softer, heavier…almost as though she knew what it felt like to hold the weight of billions of lives on her shoulders. But the innocence wasn’t there. Nor was the cold, calculated arrogance. She had seen what there was to see, how the world was going to end and while she was resigned to her fate, she understood the sacrifices that were demanded of her and made them willingly.

“I figured it was only a matter of time before _someone_ showed up. I didn’t think it would be _you,_ however.”

I gripped Aloy’s hand, for her face had gone pale and her hazel eyes wide as the woman before us turned around.

“Rob Johnson’s daughter and…well, I would say you’re _me_ ,” Elisabet mused, traces of humor slipping into her tone, “but that wouldn’t be accurate now, would it?” She gave Aloy, whose breathing had devolved into quiet hyperventilating, a kind smile. “What’s your name?”

Aloy stiffened. I brushed against her hand with my thumb in a vain effort to help her relax. “A-Aloy. You’re…you’re _her._ ”

 _Another ripple._ It lasted longer, hovering on the floor. A static charge made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Elisabet actually laughed, a warm, melodious sound that felt familiar in all the right ways. “These days we can’t be sure of anything, right? I’m sure there’s an explanation for all this and years of theory to go along with it but for the moment, let’s just say I saw you on my monitors when your brother dropped you off.” She focused on me. “Rebecca, it’s been years. Thank goodness your parents were good about sending pictures. I haven’t seen you since you were just a baby.”

“Something like that,” I replied, not knowing what else to say to the woman that _saved_ humanity. Something felt…off. “You don’t seem surprised to see us.”

She shook her head. “I can’t put my finger on when it started happening, but there have been a number of…anomalies that I’ve picked up while conducting my research.” She pointed to the papers on her desk. “Small things at first – data readings showing up slightly off, things like that. Later there were bigger issues – basic laws of physics, constants, and time deviating from what they should be.”

“It’s because none of this is real,” I blurted. “It’s a simulation. It’s…um,” I suddenly felt very awkward explaining the whole situation to one of the smartest people on the planet. “It’s a long story.”

“No doubt,” Elisabet said with a nod. “I’m going to make an educated guess and say that you’re trying to leave it.”

 _She doesn’t seem fazed at all that we’re stuck in a fake reality. Why?_ “You’d be right. Do you know how we could do that?” I asked, sounding more desperate than I would have liked. “I’ve been in one of these before and got out, but I can’t seem to figure this one out.”

She looked intrigued. “If you were in one of these before, as you said, how did you leave?”

“I guess…well, I just sort of kept trying to remember what I couldn’t. There was always something bugging me last time, like it was trying to make me forget,” I explained. “But we’re completely aware here. I _know_ none of this is real. Uh…” _Oops._ “Sorry.”

Elisabet chuckled. “I don’t know that I have the perfect answer for you. But I do know that whoever, or whatever constructed this didn’t think _everything_ through. I would use that to your advantage.” She approached Aloy, who looked like she was either going to pass out or start crying.

“I imagine you have a lot of stories to tell,” she said to Aloy.

The lights flickered. Another static charge. _Something’s happening…_

Aloy nodded before slowly releasing my hand. “I-I want you to be real. But I know you’re not.”

Elisabet gave us a pained smile. That’s when I knew.

“You already know,” I quietly accused. Fear began to eat away at me – whoever or whatever this was, the fact was that we had no idea if they were on our side or not. For all we knew, this was just another manifestation of clone Sobeck trying to taunt us. The possibility that I might have just led us into a trap became real for me. “Who are you?”

Aloy must have realized something was wrong as well because she stepped in front of me, weaponless but ready to defend me to the end. _As always._

But Elisabet just nodded. “I am who you believe me to be, or at least, a very convincing memory. I believe the memory is from _you_ , Aloy,” she said. “You, and…someone else. Someone who has a vested interest in making sure the two of you accomplish whatever it is you set out to do. If I could make one more educated guess, it would be that this place’s creator did not account for our friend’s interference here.”

“GAIA,” Aloy gasped. The lights flickered again. We all noticed it this time.

Elisabet crossed her arms again. “I think we may have found a way to get you two out of here,” she observed, sounding rather satisfied with the situation.

“How?” I asked.

“It’s me. Us,” Aloy spoke up again. I looked to her, waiting for an explanation. “Whenever we get closer or speak to each other, something…strange happens and-,”

“The ripples!” I cried. When the others stared at me, I let out a nervous laugh. “Um…sorry. Didn’t mean to shout. Just…these anomalies – I think I’ve been seeing them. Like physically _seeing_ them. I think it means the simulation is unstable.”

“Then we have to make it happen again,” Elisabet said, her lips drawn tightly in determination – the exact same expression I’d seen several times from Aloy, usually when we were in a particularly shitty situation. “Aloy.” She offered her hand. “Help me.”

Aloy stood there, lips slightly parted in awe and disbelief. I put my hand against the small of her back and gave her a gentle push forward. “What happens when we wake up?” I wondered, fearful of what the answer would be.

Elisabet’s intense gaze remained. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. But you’ve been this resourceful so far. I think you’ll be fine.”

Another flicker.

“It’s time,” Elisabet urged. “Aloy.”

Aloy looked to me. That small, crooked smile that I loved _so_ much. “Ready to leave this place?”

“You have _no_ idea,” I breathed.

She took a heavy step forward, her arm extended just enough to take Elisabet’s outstretched hand.

A shock went through me and the lights shut off – the floor was gone, and I was floating alone in darkness. The voices returned as a light approached – small at first, but growing closer quickly – too quickly.

**_“We have her, Doctor. The taser-,”_ **

**_“Have her set up in Lab 9 with the other girl. Dr. Sobeck will see to her.”_ **

_Who is that? Aloy? She’s here, too? Did the virus-?_

**_“…there may be others. Find them!”_ **

Another shock. Pain, but only for a moment.

**_“…minimal damage to the Horus in Moscow, despite initial reports. Initial reports have estimated that around three million have been ki-,”_ **

Someone was talking to me. I could hear their voice, their words, but I couldn’t comprehend them. Something wasn’t connecting.

 **_“Then_ ** **get _me something that_ will _scrub it! I didn’t come this far for some kid to jeopardize our entire operation with-,”_**

“Can you lift her?” _Who is that?_

**_“…you can’t stand there and tell me you just want to walk away from all of it-,”_ **

_No. Not anymore._

“She’s tied down. Give me a moment!”

**_“…show me.”_ **

The light shattered into a million beacons, rushing past me as everything I thought I’d put to rest flew by, every voice screaming in my head over and over again until it was all too much and I-

 _Nothing_. Only darkness.

“Becks.” Straight ahead, maybe a few paces away and surrounded by the void, _she_ was there wearing her Shield Weaver armor – her bow and spear on her back.

I looked down. I was back in my mismatched Nora clothing. “Are we back?” I whispered, though even my whisper echoed.

“I think so.”

 _Gone._ A single tear rolled down my cheek. _Mom, Dad…_ Dennis _._ They were gone. Elisabet was gone. I knew I would spend the rest of my life making peace with the fact that my family was gone forever. But I didn’t believe it was possible to miss someone I barely knew _so_ much.

“Becks,” Aloy’s voice wrapped around me, soothing me. “we’ve got this.”

I nodded. “I know.” I reached for her. She pulled me to her and gently brushed away the tear before taking me into a long, deep kiss.

“I love you.”

Warmth enveloped me as a powerful energy took hold on something within. For the first time since leaving our cabin in what seemed like ages ago, I felt unstoppable _._ “I love you.” I took one last look around us.

“Time to go.” 

* * *

 

“By the Sun, she’s awake!”

I opened my eyes…and found myself looking up at none other than Talanah, who grinned at me. “Hi, Becks.”

I groaned as whatever pain my body had been suppressing shot through me. “Aloy.”

“She’s fine!” I heard Erend’s gruff voice. “She just woke up!”

The dizziness came on strong at first as I sat up, with Talanah supporting my arm and back, but it faded just as quickly.

“Becks?” I heard Aloy mumble nearby. We were in an exam room, not unlike the one Branwell had me in when I was trapped before. I looked down. I was in another chair with restraints, which Talanah had unfastened while I was out. I spotted two spears up against the wall as well as Aloy’s bow and quiver.

“I’m here, Aloy,” I called. The automatic glass doors slid open. _Speaking of Branwell._ He did not look happy.

“What is this?! Security! Breach in Lab 9!”

I pushed myself off the table, my legs feeling a little weaker than normal, and strode past a stunned Talanah and over to Branwell. He was still screeching for security. “Breach in-,” He reached for his taser.

I clenched my fist, drawing my left arm back before ramming my fist into his face. The resulting crunch of his cheekbone shattering made for a satisfying end to his interference. He crumpled to the floor in a rather unflattering pose.

I turned to the others, panting. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” I admitted.

“Ouch,” was Talanah’s observation.

“Pretty nice, Becks,” Erend praised as he helped Aloy stand. When I saw her, I ignored everything else and ran to her, throwing my arms around her neck and nearly knocking her down.

“I’m okay, Becks,” she said, her voice muffled by my embrace.

I backed away from Aloy, who was still getting her bearings, and used my Focus to interface with the lone console in the room. I sighed with relief. _Still good._ Our plan had worked. The virus was still in place and Far Zenith hadn’t gone through with their plan yet. With luck, we could get to GAIA and gain access to her. “Please tell me one of you has the Master Override.” I grabbed the spears and bow from the wall and handed Aloy her weapons before equipping mine over my shoulder.

“I have it,” Talanah said before fishing it out of one of her belt pouches and tossing it to me. “Kept it in case something like this happened.”

“How long have we been here?” Aloy asked.

“Maybe a day,” Talanah replied. “Took us a bit to break into here without being noticed.” She nodded at Branwell’s unconscious form. “If anyone actually heard him, we might have company soon.”

 _Only a day?!_ I would never understand how time passed in that simulation, and I honestly didn’t want to find out.

“What should we do then?” Erend asked. He grabbed the massive hammer on his back. Talanah unsheathed her own spear. “I’m up for bashing a few skulls in,” he announced. “Been too long and Becks shouldn’t have all the fun.”

I studied the small, deceptively powerful piece of plastic in my hand for a few seconds before tucking it away into a pouch on my own belt. As I did so, my Focus beeped, alerting me with new notifications. _DATA SYNC SUCCESSFUL._

_Data sync?_

“Becks?” Aloy asked.

I shut off the Focus. I could deal with that later. “Sounds like a plan,” I said. “We should get to their control room. I can use the override to get control of GAIA back.”

Aloy readied her bow. “Let’s finish this, then,” she said and looked to me. “I’m so done with these people.”


	14. Endgame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!
> 
> One year after The End of the World was posted here, I present the final chapter of Out of Cryo - Season 2, and probably (most likely) what is the end of what's been a REALLY fun series to write.
> 
> I apologize for this taking so long but I think it ended up being fitting that I end it exactly a year from when I started it. 
> 
> Thank you everyone who has read, commented, favorited, and followed this series. It's been a joy writing it and I'm grateful for the lessons I've learned while doing so. 
> 
> If you enjoy my writing and want to read more, I have an original novel - the first in a trilogy - that is available! If you like action, fantasy, an original setting, and some badass wlw - please check out Enchanters. The blog is @enchanters-books on Tumblr. There is also a brand new website that will be going up very soon with lots and lots of cool art and info about the setting, lore, and characters. The story is a bit lighter than OoC, and anyone that's gotten this far is welcome to shoot me a message with their email and I'll send you a free ebook. :)
> 
> Thank you so much for giving me this chance. I hope you enjoy this final chapter.
> 
> \- Kite

“Just a second, guys.” I brought up the interface with the console once more.

Aloy let her bow hang at her side. “What are you doing?” Her voice was laced with impatience. “Don’t we have to get to the control center?”

I gave her a pointed look. I loved her to death but she could be more impatient than me sometimes. “Sure, but we should probably know _where_ it is before we rush out there. I’m grabbing the schematics of this place. Which…” I gave a quick scan of the blueprints, “Huh, that’s weird.”

“What? What’s weird?” Erend said, his grip on his hammer tensing.

I squinted, not sure what it was exactly that I was seeing. “There’s something…I see where the control center is but there’s something below it, too.” I shook my head. _No way to tell for sure unless we see for ourselves._ “It’s like a…a basement or something. But the blueprints seem incomplete.”

“Can we figure it out when we get there?” Aloy asked. I winced, though I knew she didn’t mean to sound as severe as she did. We were so close to finishing off these bastards, and possibly about to go into a fight. _Of course she’s stressed._ “Who knows how many guards they have on their way right now, Becks.”

I shut off the Focus. As curious as I was, I knew Aloy was right. “Yeah. Follow me.” 

* * *

 

“How big _is_ this place?” Talanah asked, keeping her voice down as we shuffled down the long, well-lit corridor that so far had been devoid of guards.

“It’s big, but nowhere near the size of GAIA Prime,” I said, recalling the blueprints from memory. “They don’t have a lot of people, either.”

“How do you know?” Aloy said. I noticed she kept walking in front of me even though I was technically the one giving directions. It took me a moment to realize she was doing it on purpose to protect me. I wanted to talk to her – see how she was doing after the simulation. She’d been face to face with Elisabet, and even though I knew Aloy was aware that the version of Elisabet she’d met had not been real, I was all too familiar with the emptiness – the heartache that came along with leaving the simulation and all the people I loved in it.

But we had a job to do – hopefully the last one we would have to do for the foreseeable future. While there was still the matter of the apparent “thousands” that were in cryo _somewhere,_ I wanted nothing more than to be done with Far Zenith, “Old Ones”, and really, anything that had to do with my old life. Not because I hated my old life or anything, but because I had been trying so hard over the last year to move on without my family. Far Zenith fucking around with simulations, cryogenics, and the stability of the new world was _not_ what Elisabet or the Alphas had imagined when they created GAIA – even I knew that despite not really knowing what Zero Dawn was before going into cryo. The time I’d spent with my family – even if they were fake – had been amazing, but being with Aloy – waking up next to her every morning, walking through the forests near her cabin – _our_ cabin – and hunting together, even those cold winter evenings where we sat outside, shoulders touching, staring up at stars that I’d been deprived of seeing for so long without a word being uttered between us – _those_ were the moments that made my life worth living now.

“When I was at GAIA Prime – after I woke up,” I explained. “Sylens mentioned that most of the people here were scientists not soldiers. It’s not a military operation.”

“The weapons I saw them using before is enough proof for me that they’re dangerous -soldiers or not,” Aloy said.

“Hey. Up ahead.” I saw Erend grip his weapon and nod ahead. Sure enough, muffled voices approached, followed by overlapping shadows.

I watched Aloy’s expression go from worried to focused. She nocked an arrow in her bow. Talanah stepped in front of me and followed suit.

“I don’t know if I’ll have a good shot from here,” Talanah said, her voice still low.

“I will,” was Aloy’s short reply.

Talanah raised an eyebrow as she cast Aloy an amused glance. “Still not lacking in confidence, hmm?” She looked at me. “Surprised she hasn’t gone out and gotten herself killed yet. No doubt you have something to do with that.”

I was about to reply with some snarky comment about Aloy not listening to me anyway when the owners of the voices ahead stepped into view and we found ourselves facing two guards, each holding a rifle. I recognized them from GAIA Prime – they had been guarding Branwell when we’d met him.

“ _Go!”_ Aloy ordered before she and Talanah both let loose their arrows before the guards had a chance to fire their weapons. I had to look away as the arrows broke through their throats, taking them both down immediately with a sickening thud.

“Not fair,” Erend said, pushing one of the guards’ bodies with his boot and rolling them over.

“Maybe you should try a faster weapon?” Talanah suggested, the teasing in her voice unmistakable.

But Erend just smirked and slung his hammer over his shoulder before picking up the fallen guard’s gun. “Actually, I think this’ll do just fine.”

I cringed. _Two more…gone._ These people were bad guys – of course I knew that. But they hadn’t killed anyone yet. The guards were just doing their jobs. Would they have even tried to kill us?

I knew I shouldn’t feel bad, but I’d had enough death back when we fought Ted and Jenna at the Bitter Climb. Aloy must have noticed, because she turned to me and took my wrist in a gentle grasp.

“Are you all right?”

I sighed. I felt lame telling her the truth. These people had every intention of ending the world. But the casualness around killing that Talanah and Erend exhibited still bothered me. “I’m fine, Aloy. Just…these people are the last ones left like…like me. I want to stop them as bad as you do but…do we have to kill them?”

She gave my wrist a brief squeeze before releasing it. “I know, Becks, but you have to understand – I’ll do whatever it takes to stop these people and get us out of here. After what happened I-I can’t take any more chances. Especially not with you.”

I nodded. _She’s right._ I knew it. She knew it. It didn’t make our already shitty situation any better. _At least she’s being honest with me._

I brought up the blueprints again – found the path. The blurry area that looked like a basement called my attention to it again. It was almost as though I was being _pushed_ to look at it. _Can’t worry about it, now._ “Come on. This way.” 

Thunder rumbled, reverberating throughout the compound and rattling the metal sheets that made up part of the building. I looked up, as if by instinct, and the others did the same.

“Well, at least it won’t be too hot when we get out of here,” Erend said.

“ _If_ we get out of here,” I muttered. When Aloy side-eyed me (out of concern, no doubt), I forced a smile. “I’m fine. Just a dumb joke, promise.”

We pressed on, following the route the blueprints had shown me until we reached a sealed door. The front panel emitted a dim red glow.

“Locked,” Aloy sighed, but then perked up almost immediately. “Wait-,”

“Got it,” I moved in front of her, hoping we shared the same line of thought. I fished the Master Override out of my pouch and lined it up with the panel on the door. The mechanism hummed for a few seconds before the light turned green and the doors slid open.

“Nice,” Erend grinned as I retrieved the Master Override. “That little thing’s been pretty handy.”

“That’s my hope,” I said as we passed through the doorway, which led us into a massive, octagonal room walled with various panels and blue holographic displays. In the center was a platform that stretched out across most of the floor. There were some rails around it and on the sides were beams that the corners of the platform snapped into. A console stood nearby. We’d entered through one way but there were exits on the left and right sides of the room as well.

This was the most control center-ish room I’d seen so far and the blueprints seemed to agree.

I spoke first. “I _think_ this might be it.” We stood in silence.

“We’ll take watch at the doors,” Talanah finally said before she and Erend broke away from us. They each took a post at the exits on both sides of the room.

“There.” Aloy pointed at the console. “Is that what we’re looking for?”

“I don’t know,” I said as we stepped onto the platform, which wobbled slightly under our feet. I stopped. “Elevator?” When Aloy gave me a puzzled stare, I nodded toward the console. “Try to activate it.”

I watched as she brought up the interface and pressed one of the buttons. There was a click and the platform jerked suddenly before starting to descend.

“Whoa!” I grabbed one of the rails as we passed through the floor and down into what appeared to be the basement of the facility.

“Stay there, you two,” Aloy called up to Erend and Talanah. The platform continued to lower us until we were about 20 feet under the control center room, where it stopped and let out a long hiss, followed by puffs of white smoke on all sides. A gentle breeze blew, ruffling my hair a little. It wasn’t super cold, but a shiver ran down my spine anyway.

The room was dark, with barely enough light to see directly in front of us. I couldn’t really see much beyond where we stood - the platform took up most of the floor, save a small extension on the edge where an instantly recognizable shape was sprawled out.

“Over there!” Aloy rushed ahead, the urgency in her tone obvious. I jogged up behind her and gasped.

A skeleton – sprawled out on the floor with mid-21st century clothing hanging off of it. I let my Focus scan it to see if perhaps it could identify anything but it came back with _“Human, Unknown – Deceased”._

“Wh-who was this?” I breathed. “Why would they just _leave_ them down here?”

Aloy knelt down next to the skeleton and inspected it for a moment. Her eyes lit up and she reached into its tattered pants pocket and procured a slim, metal card. “What’s this?”

“Security pass maybe?” I looked around, making sure that we didn’t miss Talanah or Erend calling down to us or worse, someone from Far Zenith sneaking up on us.

I watched as she scanned the card with her Focus. “This is interesting.”

“What?”

“I don’t recognize the name, but their title says ‘Far Zenith Projects, Lead’.” She looked back to me. “I thought Elis-the clone and Branwell were in charge.”

I nodded. “So did I. Apparently, there was someone else involved.”

She pocketed the card. “But why leave them for dead here?”

“Or kill them?” I suggested.

Aloy stood up and rolled her shoulders back. “I don’t think there’s anything for us here. Let’s go back up and figure out how we can shut this place down.”

Figuring out the controls to go back up was easier, and moments later the two of us were back on the platform heading up to the control center. Erend and Talanah left their posts to greet us.

“Anything?”

“A dead person. Not sure who it is, though,” I said before glancing around the room. “There has to be some interface that the Master Override can connect to.”

Erend seemed hesitant. “Uh… you probably know what that would look like better than us,” he said, making Aloy smirk.

“Speak for yourself,” she replied.

I looked at them. “Is everything a competition for you people?”

“Yes,” all three of them answered immediately.

Laughing, I held up the override to show them. “We need to find the console that controls the operations of this place. I’ll use this to get into their system and-,”

I would never finish. Explosions fired off into the room, the feedback from the gunshots echoing countless times as we ducked out of instinct. I couldn’t help but allow the fleeting thought that I was getting _too_ accustomed to being thrown into deadly situations.

“ _Down!_ ” Aloy yelled, grabbing me by my shirt and yanking me to the floor behind one of the metal consoles.

“They’re in here!” I heard a man shout, no doubt one of the guards who fired their weapons at us. I heard scuffling nearby and saw Talanah, bow in hand, start to climb to her feet to counterattack. But Aloy got her attention before she could.

“Don’t!” she hissed. “Stay down. They’ll kill you before you can get there.”

Talanah seemed to disagree but she relented and stayed where she was.

I was about to look to Aloy to see what we should do next when that familiar voice rang out. The anger that bubbled up in me was immediate as soon as I recognized who it was, which I had become very good at lately.

“Hold fire! _I said hold your damn fire!”_ Sobeck’s clone ran into the room. From my limited view, I could see she had her hair pulled back and actually carried a spear on her back, though it looked much more advanced than what myself or Aloy carried. The metal looked less like it was built from machine parts and more like it had been custom designed just for her.

The guards let off their triggers and stepped back, letting Sobeck pass by. “I swear if you broke anything here with your goddamn bullets I’ll have your heads.” She paused. When she spoke again, her voice was much calmer. “Becks, I know you’re here. Come out, surrender, whatever you have to do – and we can make this right. Just like we talked about.”

I glanced over at Aloy, who raised an eyebrow – obviously unconvinced – and tried to assess our situation. _Our shitty situation. We’re surrounded by guys with guns and a crazy clone. There’s no way out of here except-_

Up.

I had an idea. It was crazy and possibly suicidal. But if I’d learned anything, it was that I had come a _long_ way from being the scared, helpless teenager I was when Aloy found me in the cryo tank.

Of course, Aloy would never allow it. But I didn’t need her permission.

I leaned into her, pressing up against her to the point where she gave me a puzzled look. “Be careful,” I murmured before kissing her on the cheek.

Aloy’s eyes widened. “What are you-,” she started, but I stood up before she could finish.

“Hey!” I yelled out at Sobeck as I stepped out of our hiding place, my spear in my hand. “I’ve got something you want.”

I wanted to laugh when I saw Sobeck’s brow furrow, as it was literally the same face Aloy would make at me whenever I said something weird (which was admittedly often). It would have been funny if we weren’t all possibly seconds away from dying.

She glared at me. “How did you get in here?”

I patted my belt pouch. “Like you haven’t figured it out yet. Same way HADES got taken down. All I have to do is hook up this thing into one of your consoles and I can pull the plug on this whole shit show.”

Sobeck scoffed. “You wouldn’t.”

I kept a straight face and stepped onto the center platform. “Try me,” I said, taking one step closer to the elevator console.

“Becks, I will only ask once,” she warned. “Give me the override.”

“We can take her down clean, ma’am,” one of the guards said.

I glanced at the console. The holographic interface popped up – both up and down arrows blinking at me.

“No!” Sobeck snapped. “If _anything_ gets damaged it could jeopardize the entire operation. Becks, give. Me. The override.”

I grinned. _Here we fucking go._ “Sure. You have to come get it, though!” I slammed my fist on the up arrow and the platform did its usual shifting before starting to rise.

Sobeck looked up at me in bewilderment before snapping out of her trance and ran toward me. She easily leapt onto the platform and pulled herself up on it.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._ What was I thinking? I could barely hold my own against Aloy in _training._ Judging by her muscular form and the confidence with which she grabbed the spear from its resting place on her back and held it up, it was clear this Sobeck was trained in combat, even _spear_ combat.

“You’re making a mistake, Becks,” she said as we continued to rise toward the roof, which was automatically opening as a blast door pulled apart up top. The sky was dark and cloudy. I could feel a cold wind from where we stood, as well as the spray of water droplets on my forehead. “I don’t want to kill you. You don’t belong with these people.”

That struck a nerve. I dropped the coolness I had been struggling to keep up in front of my fear. “These _people_ saved me and gave me a home here. You talk about remaking the world, but you’re no better than the people that destroyed the world in the first place!”

“Enough! I don’t need to be lectured by some kid.”

“Perfect. I was tired of trying to reason with a shitty poser clone, anyway.”

I should have been faster, honestly. I stood there long enough to see Sobeck’s right eye twitch and the next thing I knew, her fist had smashed into the left side of my face, sending me to the metal floor where I rolled, grunting in pain.

By the time I pushed myself up, we had reached the rooftop, which was lit up by blinding floodlights with streaks of rain falling in front of them. My hair and clothes were quickly soaked.

I stood up and held my spear out – trying to remember the positioning Aloy had taught me. Thunder sounded, shaking the metal grate beneath us.

“Last chance, Becks!” she shouted.

I took a moment to feel for my belt pouch before focusing on my stance again. “Let’s see if you actually know how to use that spear.”

She laughed. “Probably better than you. You think I don’t know about your little trick? We’ve had machines monitoring you for quite some time and-,”

_Holy fuck – they really_ do _monologue._ I charged, throwing all my strength into my attack. She blocked me with her spear but only just – she skidded back a few inches as she took the full force of the power GAIA’s modifications gave me.

“Not bad,” she said and pushed back against me. I stepped back and swung at her again, trying to ignore the pouring rain and surrounding distractions as we began dueling. My skills were no match for hers but I made up for that in raw strength. Still, I didn’t know how long I could hold out for. 

* * *

 

_“BECKS!”_

_Other ways. Have to be._ The blade was pressed against my throat.

“No more, Becks. It’s time.”

_Has to be another way._

“I’m sorry.” She drew the spear back – just enough to give her the room to drive it through me.

A powerful roar. The building shook as the floodlights flickered. She stumbled – looked confused. It was all I needed.

I rolled - yelling out as my knee exploded in pain again – and pushed myself up. With the rest of my remaining strength, I grabbed her arm and tried to throw her to the ground. She resisted, and I was weak enough that I lost my balance and went down with her as we tumbled off the edge.

_Hold!_ I reached out just in time with my left arm and grabbed the edge of the metal grate. The sharp edges cut into my palm and fingers and my arm and shoulder, despite the implants, ached in protest as the pieces inside were tested. Sobeck clung to my other arm.

The implants were the only thing preventing us from falling to our deaths on the rocky crags below.

“Hold on!” I cried, the pain almost overwhelming. I could feel her hand slipping down my arm – my soaked sleeve making it worse.

Sobeck looked up and met my eyes. I almost pitied her – _almost._ I think she’d been lost before she even had a chance in this world. The fact that she was insane and wanted to destroy the world didn’t help, either.

Her hand slipped again – it was unrecoverable. I watched in shock as she lost her grip on me and plummeted into the darkness below.

_Strain._ After the fight, I could feel my arm weakening. I couldn’t hold on much longer. The rain blurred my vision and my hand ached from the metal as I felt it begin to slip…

“Becks!” Aloy’s arm shot out and grabbed me. I was disoriented but I knew I was being pulled up. Next thing I knew, I was in her arms – sitting together on the edge of the rooftop. The rain was still coming down hard but neither of us cared.

“You’re all right,” she whispered, kissing me on the top of my head.

“That’s…because I’m amazing,” I said, definitely feeling as weak as I sounded. I looked up at her. “The override…?”

She reached into her pocket, where I had stuffed it earlier before heading up the elevator with Sobeck. “Back where it belongs. GAIA’s back to normal and she’s having the machines hold down the guards and whatever other crazy people are still here.” She sighed. “I can’t believe she’s really gone.”

“No,” I said. “She was never here. She was gone a long time ago.”

“I know…I know that.” Another sigh. “Well, Erend and Talanah are waiting for us.”

I buried my face in her chest. I didn’t want to move and my knee definitely agreed with me. “Let’s just stay here.”

She chuckled. “Or we could leave this awful place and get you out of those wet clothes.”

I kissed her before giving her a crooked smile. “Is that a proposition?”

Aloy shook her head in dismay before helping me up – allowing me to put most of my weight on her. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go home.” 

* * *

 

_Two weeks later_

“…and this guy?”

_“The original lead coordinator of this Far Zenith project. Dr. Branwell and Elisabet’s clone were responsible for his death unfortunately. Their visions and goals did not align.”_

“Unfortunate. This could have been a wondrous opportunity. To have met and understood the Old Ones…such a pointless waste of life.”

GAIA spoke again. _“I am inclined to agree with you, Sun King Avad, though I should remind you that Becks is also an ‘Old One’.”_

Avad turned to me, an apologetic smile on his face. “Of course. Forgive me, Becks, I’ve only known you as Aloy’s companion and nothing more. Until now, that is.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, taking a moment to register what was happening for the third time since we arrived. After stopping Far Zenith, Aloy had tended to me before reporting to Sun King Avad immediately.

She told him _everything._ Her journey. Finding me. Our journey together. Everything. And oddly enough, he listened. Then he declared that he wanted to see the facility for himself.

Now, we – Aloy, Avad, Erend, Talanah, Vanasha, and I as well as some of Avad’s men and Erend’s Vanguard – stood in the basement of the Far Zenith facility, where GAIA asked us to convene. GAIA had even done us the favor of using the machines to herd the remaining Far Zenith scientists and security into holding cells, similar to the one I had met Sylens in.

It all seemed like a lifetime ago.

Now we were back here again. My knee injury was not too severe – Aloy had fashioned a brace for me and I had mostly stayed off it the last couple of weeks.

“So, what is it you wanted to show us?” Aloy asked.

GAIA’s soft voice pierced the quiet room again. _“I took the liberty of educating myself on the original vision of Far Zenith. Their goals were not too unaligned with Elisabet’s and the Zero Dawn project. While I believe Zero Dawn was mostly successful, this facility has achieved something remarkable of its own.”_

“Like what?”

_“One moment. Activating platform. Please stand near a railing.”_

We began to descend into the depths of what was apparently a very, _very_ deep room. Small white lights on the side beams of the elevator lit the way for us as we slowly dropped. After a while, I noticed something that I couldn’t remember seeing before. They were all around us.

“Wait! Those green lights…are those…?”

_“This is Far Zenith’s cryo chamber.”_

I didn’t understand at first. My brain couldn’t seem to comprehend it. Even Aloy’s strong grip on my arm wasn’t helping me register this news.

“Becks…” she breathed.

_“Activating lower level lighting.”_

“By the Sun…” I heard Avad gasp.

One light flickered on. Then another. And another. Each cryo tank had a light under it, no doubt to assist whoever was interfacing with the paneling to open the tank.

“GAIA, are they…are they alive?” I asked, my voice so quiet I was surprised GAIA could hear it.

_“Cryo chamber sensors indicate that 98% of the subjects here are showing positive vital signs. Most have survived, Becks. Like you.”_

_Like you._ Reacting was beyond my capability. I could only stand there, clinging to Aloy as my eyes welled up with tears.

“Who are they?” Aloy wondered.

_“According to facility records, the majority of the subjects were relatively normal citizens, most of whom either had the means to afford a cryo tank here or were made eligible for Far Zenith’s experimental program.”_

“They’re regular people, Aloy,” I exclaimed. “They-do you know what this means?”

More lights flicked on. There were hundreds, no – _thousands_ of tanks. Green lights, _everywhere._

Aloy put her arm around my waist. Her eyes were bright. “I think it means we’re going to have a lot of work to do.” It was the truth of course, but she didn’t seem upset about it at all. If anything, she seemed _excited._

While the others were taking in the sight before them as GAIA was explaining more about the facility to them, I took a moment to bring up my Focus interface and took a look at the data that had mysteriously synced when we’d come out the simulation. My heart skipped a beat when I opened the folder and saw its contents.

Messages, audio logs, music, movies – all compressed, with the date suspiciously stamped with one from the 21st century. _How is this possible?_

But I knew. I guess I had known since we woke up. _Dennis._

One audio file stood out to me – the timestamp several months after I was born. I opened it and played it back, making sure the volume was low enough that only I could hear it.

I heard Mom’s voice.

_“-okay, just leave that there. Rebecca…Rebecca, look at me! Come on, sweetie…annnd she’s not looking…what the-Robbie, you can’t distract her like that! I’m trying to get her to look over here so we can have at least_ one _good picture to send to my sister.”_ I could hear Dad laughing in the background before the audio cut out.

There were several other files dated around the same time, and dozens more after that. The tears streamed down my cheeks, now. I would watch more – all of them – eventually. Maybe even some with Aloy. If our discovery told us anything, it was that we were going to be _very_ busy for a while.

My recovery wasn’t over – far from it. I was learning to cope, yes, but the ghosts that followed me would continue to do so. The hole that my losses had left in me would never be filled. Mom, Dad, Dennis – my world was gone. Jenna was gone. No simulation could bring them back.

I looked up at Aloy, and my heart soared at the sight of wonder in her eyes. I knew no matter what challenges awaited us, we’d overcome it. Not as me depending on her, but us leaning on each other. We were a team now – we were _us_ – and I’d seen firsthand how willing I was to fight for a world where we could have that.

And I was very okay with that.  
  
  
THE END


End file.
